Sunderland manager Roy Keane was far from satisfied despite seeing his side win 4-2 at Sheffield Wednesday.
Dwight Yorke, Tobias Hysen and David Connolly put the Black Cats 3-0 up after 58 minutes at Hillsborough but Chris Brunt and Wade Small's late goals ensured a nervous finish for the visitors, who finally secured victory with Carlos Edwards' 89th-minute goal.
That brought some criticism from Keane.
The former Manchester United and Ireland midfielder said: 'We got away with it. It was a good result but the performance was disappointing.
'We kept giving the ball away and players were doing the wrong things, taking too many touches. The players are capable of doing better than that.'
Sunderland have now won four of their last five league matches but Keane insists there is plenty of room for improvement.
'We're doing okay. We're taking baby steps,' said the manager, who revealed he could make further additions to his squad before the transfer window closes.
'I'm always looking and we're hopeful something will happen.'
Yorke put Sunderland ahead in the 20th minute, slipping the ball past keeper Mark Crossley after trading passes with Liam Miller inside the area.
Sunderland's Stephen Elliott saw his shot come back off a post before Hysen made it 2-0 in time added on at the end of the half, meeting a low cross from Edwards at the near post.
Wednesday rarely posed an attacking threat before the break with Brunt and substitute Leon Clarke both having efforts blocked.
Clarke, making his Wednesday debut after signing from Wolves, also shot wide at the start of the second half.
A swift counter-attack from the visitors resulted in a third goal, scored by Connolly (58) from close range after Hysen delivered a low cross.
Brunt pulled a goal back for Wednesday in the 82nd minute as goalkeeper Darren Ward got a hand to his free-kick but could only help the ball into the net.
Small scored the hosts' second goal on 87 minutes, firing home after Marcus Tudgay's shot was deflected into his path.
However, Edwards killed off any hopes of a comeback two minutes later, scoring from close range after an assist by Daryl Murphy.
