ST KILDA coach Ross Lyon has labelled his team mentally and physically soft in the aftermath of its 46-point loss to Brisbane at the Gabba.

In a stinging appraisal of the Saints, Lyon said a number of changes would be made ahead of next week's match against Melbourne after the inept performance.

He said too much was being left to too few and the buck had to stop now.

With St Kilda's record at four wins and five losses and sitting just a game outside the eight, the Saints coach was not writing the season off, but said it was time for change.

Lyon did not mince words in his assessment.

"If we're honest, which is a reflection of me which grates on me, but we're not hard and we're not tough enough, consistently enough,'' he said.

"I could show you games and I could show you quarters, but footy is about a week-in, week-out battle. We're not hard and tough enough, often enough across the board, which is my responsibility and I've got 13 weeks to fix that and if I can't do that we'll assess.

"It's a reflection of me and my job at the minute, for the supporters and the club, to set us in a direction with a group of players who aren't mentally soft and physically soft and at the minute we've got a few that are - and opposition clubs know that.

"It's hard to put an exact figure but it's too many (players).

"I'm talking about consistency, we're talking about trying to be an elite team. It can't swing that dramatically. We need players that will bleed for the guernsey.

"The heat will come on the club and myself and that's fair enough and we need to examine exactly why we're inconsistent and who wants to go forward with our leaders."

St Kilda watched as Brisbane slammed on 14 goals to four in the second and third quarters on Sunday and took a 69-point lead into the final term.

The Lions were more desperate and more skilful and with the exception of midfield trio Luke Ball, Lenny Hayes and Robert Harvey, the Saints engine room was lacking.

Lyon said it was a "massive concern" that 36-year-old Harvey was still the player willing to work the hardest and he described his team's forward pressure as "pitiful".

"Champions deliver under pressure in any environment under any conditions against any opposition and that's what Rob Harvey continues to do," he said.

Lyon defended his team's leadership, saying Hayes, Ball and Nick Riewoldt were superb around the club, and was certainly not writing the team off for 2008.

"Our season is alive in a sense that there's enough teams we can beat and sneak into the bottom end of the eight, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"Four and five is a hole but it's not irreversible, so I'm not throwing away the season.

"You can't make wholesale changes but you've got to weed some out. It starts with competing and we're not competing for long enough, often enough."

Lyon said he paid little credence to St Kilda's eight goals to four final term: "it's easy to kick eight when the game's over, you've got to do it when the heat's on."

He also added that Riewoldt was 100 percent fit going into the clash and the Saints would never risk him for short term gain.