St Kilda coach Brett Ratten admits that his battered, bruised and embarrassed team have too many passengers to be an AFL finals threat.
The Saints were humbled by the Western Bulldogs in a mini elimination final on Friday night, with the 28-point margin in the 13.6 (84) to 7.14 (56) loss flattering Ratten's insipid outfit.
After sitting inside the top-four when they were 8-3, St Kilda have since lost five of their last six games with a difficult draw to end the season.
Ratten, who recently signed a new two-year deal to remain as Saints coach, was bewildered by the lack of effort and intensity from his team in a crunch game.
Sixteen Saints players did not lay a tackle in the first-half, with seven not adding any to their tally by the end of the game.
"It is a concern for us and trying to find the right mix and the right players to get that done, we'll keep exploring that," Ratten said.
"We're running out of time very quickly.
"Our resilience before the bye was really sound, we'd fight and scrap, but post the bye we have been inconsistent in that space.
"The boys were talking about the communication levels being down on the field and that's just a lack of confidence or going into your shell.
"At the moment, we're carrying too many who are not performing at the level we're after or assisting their teammates when it's needed."
Adding to St Kilda's woes was an Achilles issues to star ruckman Paddy Ryder, who was subbed out in the third quarter.
The evergreen veteran is in doubt to face West Coast in Perth next Sunday.
"We've just got to be wary of player at 34, nearly 35 who has a history of that," Ratten said.
"We've got a bigger break that might help him but it will be touch and go."
