DISMAYED Hamilton manager Martin Canning has warned his team they must toughen up mentally to arrest their worrying freefall.

The New Douglas Park club have not won a match since January 4 as their stunning opening half of the campaign has been completely obliterated.

Their latest confidence crusher came when rivals Motherwell inflicted a 4-0 hammering at Fir Park.

It was a dismal showing from Accies that also saw 19-year-old Darren Lyon dismissed for a challenge on Marvin Johnson.

The defeat leaves Hamilton's top-six ambitions looking ever more precarious as seventh-placed Dundee closed the gap on them with two games in hand.

And Canning, who has yet to win a game since taking over from Alex Neil, is wanting a quick reaction from his team before their next match a week on Saturday against St Johnstone.

He said: "Obviously it's been a difficult run and, when you're on a bad run and you lose a goal, then heads can go down.

"I've spoken to the boys about it, that's when you need characters, you need your big players to step up to the mark, but we're a young squad and that's something we'll need to learn.

"I'm obviously very disappointed, I think that's the only way to sum it up, disappointing. I thought we played well in the first half, and obviously individual mistakes cost us.

"All I can do is continue to work hard, and the players and staff will do the same. We're confident we can turn it around.

"We have lost key personnel, but that excuse has got to stop now. The boys in the dressing room have got to take responsibility and stand up."

With the game tied at 0-0 at half-time, two fantastic strikes from Lionel Ainsworth put Motherwell on the path to victory before John Sutton grabbed a brace for himself late on.

"That's the most disappointing thing for me," added Canning. "You can make mistakes and it's a great strike from the boy, but the biggest thing for me is having characters who will stand up.

"Anybody can lose a goal, but when you lose a goal you need to get yourself back in the game, so to lose the second one so quickly is a real kick when you're down, and it makes it really difficult to get back into the game."