Was 5-1 worth it?

But leading the Jambos out of administration would be the Gorgie club’s biggest EVER victory.

The shattered gaffer looked like he hadn’t slept for days as he addressed the media at Tynecastle yesterday.

He’d spent the morning locked in talks with players and trying to negotiate pay cuts in order to keep them on the books.

But even now he has no idea what kind of squad he’ll have for next season.

Hearts will start the new league campaign on minus 15 points as punishment for plunging into administration.

But with people losing their jobs, Locke hasn’t even thought about that just yet.

And with the stricken outfit staring into the abyss, he wonders if all the success Vladimir Romanov’s spending brought was really worth it.

Locke, first-team coach under Paulo Sergio, said: “That’s a difficult one. If you were to ask me for the highlight of my career, I’d say the 5-1 game against Hibs.

“But when you look at what happened yesterday and what’s happening now, you think to yourself: ‘Was it worth it?

“It’s a very, very difficult question. Would I change it? No.

“But if I knew this was going to happen, then you probably would.

“Winning this battle is more important to this club than anything that happened on May 19 last year. This is the biggest battle the club has faced.

“It’s time everyone at this club stands shoulder to shoulder, for every person who lined the streets of Edinburgh after we won the Cup to step up to the plate.

“The situation is grim. The administrators told everyone the position yesterday and now I’m trying to say the same.

“We need the fans now more than ever. If they back the club in the next two weeks, as I’m 100 per cent sure they will do, we have a chance.

“No one is bigger than this club. Not me, the staff or any of the players. It’s important this club survives and, at the minute, things are looking very bleak.

“We’re not getting paid, we’re all working for free. But I’m prepared to do that.”

Asked if he was angry at Hearts’ plight, Locke replied: “I don’t really want to talk about the past.

“I have opinions on different things but I’d rather keep them to myself. We are in administration now, so it’s a completely new start. I just pray everybody rallies round the club.

“I saw what happened last year when the club asked the fans to dig deep.

“I hope the same thing happens again and we can get the club back to what it was like when I played here.”

Locke was axed by administrators as a Bradford player in 2002.

He admits that pain doesn’t compare to seeing people he manages told earlier this week they no longer had jobs.

The boss was informed Hearts were going into administration while he was on holiday in Turkey at the end of last week.

Locke said: “I spoke to John Murray and people at the club when I was on holiday, so I had a rough idea of what was happening.

“But the last four or five days of my holiday ended up being pretty disastrous.

“Although I had a good time with the wife and kids, it was heartbreaking to hear things that were going to happen here. You fear for your job. As soon as the club goes into administration, you think you might be out of a job as well.

“I went through it as a player with Bradford and it was horrible.

“They just phoned and told you that you had no job.

“As a player, it’s slightly different because you worry about yourself. I only had myself to worry about at Bradford.

“But as the manager here, you worry about players, your staff and the other people at the club.

“So far I’ve not had a lot of contact with the players. The majority of them are still on holiday but, to be honest with you, there aren’t many left.

“I had a good meeting with the administrators on Thursday — or as good as it could have been.

“They told me everything, although there were some things I really didn’t want to hear. But they told me the truth and exactly how it is.

“I know what’s at stake. I know what we need to do. It’s important we get that message out to supporters.”

Administrators Trevor Birch and Bryan Jackson have already held talks with the Foundation of Hearts and one other consortium interested in buying the club.

Locke insists he has no preference who takes over — as long as they preserve 139 years of Edinburgh history.

He said: “The meeting I had with the administrators was positive in the sense they told you everything they know.

“They are in talks with people at the moment. I don’t know what is going to happen with that.

“I hope and pray somebody does buy the club and we can move forward.

“This is a huge club, a great institution with great history.

“We hope something can happen but, at the moment, things are bleak.”