A NUMB Gordon Strachan will take his "plodding" Saints squad back to basics with a gruelling week of training.

The St Mary's boss sympathised with fans who emptied the stadium before the end of the 2-0 home defeat against Manchester City on Saturday and said he would not tolerate his team's performance.

"We can't accept off days," he said. "I will not watch that again.

"I'd like to think my job is to make the team better and we must do far better than that. And we will do.

"That is the first time in two years I can recall seeing empty seats before the final whistle. It was that sort of performance from us."

Strachan's tough training methods are well-known and the Saints manager promised: "One thing's for sure - we'll have a good, hard week.

"It will definitely be full-time and they'll be better next week - that's for sure.

"I'm way beyond disappointed. It's a numb feeling, more a quizzical feeling.

"None of us had a good day - I have made some bad decisions as well."

Goals in either half from Robbie Fowler and Paulo Wanchope settled Saturday's match as Saints' three-game unbeaten run came to a crashing halt.

They again struggled to create chances and Strachan accused his team of playing an out-dated style of football.

He added: "The game has been the same for 100 years and for the 40 or so that I have been watching it. The team that controls the ball and passes it best has the best chance of winning.

"City had more imagination. The better team won, the braver team and the better passing team won.

"The one-dimensional team, the plodding team, the lack-of-imagination team got beaten.

"We seemed to have forgotten how we play the game and how the game is supposed to be played.

"We should have moved on from the late 1980s and early 1990s when teams belted the ball up front.

"But be under no illusions - we know how the game should be played and we have to get back to being better."