Micky Mellon demanded to know why it took his Dundee United players until the second half to get going after making it eight games without a win following defeat against Motherwell.
The Tangerines are just five points ahead of second bottom Ross County who they face on Saturday in the Highlands and Mellon insists it’s time to roll their sleeves up.
United were 2-0 down at the break before they rallied in the second half and Ryan Edwards pulled a goal back but it was too little, too late.
Mellon said: “We had a chat at half-time and they went out in the second half and the thing that makes you more angry is that they found that extra 30 per cent and looked like a completely different team as if I’d made eleven subs.
“We should start with that level of intensity. I’ve spoken to the players about that. It’s something we’ll ask again when we go into training.
“We understand that we need to win games of football. We won’t shy away from that. We know the importance of getting ready for an important game at the weekend.
“I won’t lie to you and say I don’t understand where we are in the league. We will get on with our jobs and try to improve and if we do that we should be okay.
“Are the players up for battle? I’m not even thinking about that at the minute. I’m thinking about getting up for the challenge at the weekend and getting going again.”
United had four penalty appeals waved away and Mellon said: “To sit and talk about penalties after a defeat people will say I’m talking about referees again but we were denied stonewallers again that would have come at an important time.”
Mellon included a player in his squad who returned a false positive Covid test but was told on the eve of the game he could feature following a change to the rule that previously meant a 10-day self isolation period.
He said: “One of the players returned a false positive. We got word back late on Tuesday night and we got on with it.
“We did what we had to do and spoke to who we needed to and then waited.
“People then came back to us with the necessary information and we moved ahead and got on with it.”
Motherwell are looking to get clarity from the Joint Response Group that governs Scottish football's covid guidelines after a Dundee United player registered a false-positive test ahead of the game.
Mellon confirmed the result and that United followed the correct procedures in naming the team.
Micky Mellon said: "One of the players returned a false positive. We got word back late on Tuesday night and we got on with it.
"We did what we had to do and spoke to who we needed to and then waited.
"People then came back to us with the necessary information and we moved ahead and got on with it."
