St Helens head coach Kristian Woolf said his side were “off in every department” in their stunning defeat at Salford Red Devils.
The Super League leaders were beaten 44-12 by an exceptional Salford, only their fourth league loss of the season.
Woolf called for reflection among his squad as he searched for answers.
“Salford deserve credit,” he said. “They played very well but we are extremely disappointed.
“We pride ourselves on high standards and, for whatever reason, we have not reached those today.
“We pride ourselves on defence but we were well below our usual standards. We are going to have to have a good look at that and try and work out how we can turn around.
“If you don’t start the game with the right attitude things can snowball and they become hard to turn around.
“Salford played exactly the way we expected to play and they executed well. We are the ones who needed to be better. We were off in every department and that showed really early.
“That result needs to give us a kick up the backside and we need to have an honest look at ourselves. We have been off for two weeks and I’m not sure why we have been.”
