GORDON Strachan admitted Saturday had been Saints' most disappointing display of the season.
Robbie Fowler and Paulo Wanchope did the damage as they went down 2-0 to Kevin Keegan's Manchester City at St Mary's.
The Saints boss was at a loss to explain the poor performance, saying: "I don't think they were jaded, they have to be able to play week-in, week-out.
"The first half was fairly even and we might have scored on a lucky day but it needed to be a lucky day for us to win.
"We are not looking for luck to rule our future so we have to get better."
City's second goal looked as though it might have been offside as Wanchope got behind the defence to end any hope for Saints.
But Strachan said: "That was academic. That was irrelevant and not even worth talking about. We have got far bigger problems than worrying if a guy was offside or not."
Strachan did, however, have praise for the efforts of midfielder Rory Delap.
He said: "Rory Delap took a few knocks, but I did think he was at least trying to do the right thing. He can say 'at least I did my job'."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article