Warriors coach Stephen Kearney delivered a stern message, following Friday night's 26-12 loss to the Cronulla Sharks, according to assistant Warriors coach Stacey Jones.
The Warriors displayed one of their worst performances of the season against the defending champions in Auckland - something that did not please the Warriors' coaching staff.
The Warriors still have a mathematical chance of making the NRL top eight for the first time since 2011, but they need to win their last five games, with a multitude of results needing to go their way.
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Speaking to Saturday Sport on RadioLIVE, Jones told Brendan Telfer Kearney is prepared to "walk players out the front gate" if they do not step up to the mark.
"Stephen Kearny delivered a pretty stern talk to the players, and the conversation went along the line of, 'If I sense any ounce of complacency or switching off,' he will walk them out the front gate at Mount Smart straight away," said Jones.
"With five games to go there is a lot to play for. We have lots of loyal fans and we know that their patience is waning.
"Some players are playing for their future and contracts, so there is plenty to play for."
Jones admitted some players might have been feeling the pressure during the match, but he didn't understand why, as the message heading into the clash was to just put together a good performance.
The understrength Sharks constantly put the 12th-placed Warriors under constant pressure, which led to 10 errors during the match.
Those errors, along with penalties, ultimately gifted the Sharks their eight road win of the season.
"Frustrating is the word which can sum up last night for us and our fans. There was no composure early on.
"They are simple fundamental skills, which at this level you have to get right, and we had too many of them, which put our defence under pressure.
"We didn't talk about having to win this game to make the playoffs; it was about making sure we put together a good performance to put ourselves in the picture because the last few weeks have really put pressure on us to get up the ladder and teams around us are winning."
The Warriors will look to snap their four-game losing streak against the Knights in Newcastle in their next match.
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