Dundee manager Jim McIntyre has made it clear he will not tolerate another performance as sloppy as the one they put in against St Johnstone.

McIntyre was publicly critical of his players, who remain rooted to the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership table in the wake of their 2-0 defeat at Dens Park. Tommy Wright’s visitors prevailed thanks to Scott Tanser’s opener after 35 seconds and Liam Craig’s 58th-minute strike.

McIntyre, whose men sit two points behind second-bottom St Mirren, is desperately seeking reinforcements during the January transfer window and insists Saturday’s efforts are unacceptable in their fight for survival.

McIntyre said: “It was there for all to see. That’s not what we’re looking for and we have to accept that we were nowhere near it with this performance.

“It could easily have been a lot more than 2-0 being honest and that is simply not good enough. We’ve got a break now for a bit and we need to try and get new players in – simple as that.

“The squad needs strengthening and we all know that. It’s hard to take because we have been playing better of late, and then we go and give this kind of performance.

“We need to get better and we will, I’m sure of that.”

Saints manager Wright maintains his players are the ones who deserve all the credit for setting a club-record six straight away wins in the top flight.

He said: “They’ve been brilliant. All the praise needs to go to them. In recent weeks, they’ve really done themselves proud so I can’t speak highly enough of them.

“I enjoy watching them playing like that. They are great to watch and deserve the plaudits.”