Harry Redknapp believes his players are lacking fitness but not fight after Queens Park Rangers were beaten 2-0 by West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
QPR paid the price for a sluggish display as Nedum Onuoha's own goal and Diafra Sakho's second-half header gave all three points to the Hammers, who move up to seventh in the table, level on points with Arsenal and Liverpool.
The defeat leaves the Hoops bottom of the table with just four points from seven matches and still yet to register a point away from home this season.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville described the visitors' attitude as "diabolical'' after the game but Redknapp refused to criticise his players' commitment.
"It wasn't great, that's for sure -- that's his opinion. I've seen some diabolical performances of late as well but we won't go into that one,'' Redknapp told a news conference.
"We need to get them fitter. I've put a lot of faith into Sandro. Unfortunately he's had an injury and we need to get him fit. When he's fit he's a fantastic player -- I had him at Tottenham, he's an excellent player -- but at the moment he's short of fitness.
"The doctor came to me at half-time and told me he can only play another 15 minutes -- I need players who can play 90 minutes. They've had injuries and missed training -- we need to get everyone fit and ready to go.''
QPR made a number of high-profile signings in the summer but the team's big names have failed to deliver results so far this season.
Redknapp's side face a tough run of fixtures after the international break with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all to come in the next four games.
When asked if the players were letting him down with their disappointing displays, Redknapp said: "I don't think so. We're short -- we're short of goals, we're short up front. It's been difficult, we lost Loic Remy on the deadline and couldn't get a replacement. We've had a tough start but there's an awful long way to go.
"There's a lot of teams down there -- one win changes everything. What are you supposed to do? You have to keep going. We're not going to give up are we? It's early days. We have to find a way of playing that suits everybody and get the best out of what we've got.''