Sharks coach John Plumtree has put his team on notice, after their a scrappy 23-3 Currie Cup win over the Leopards in Durban last Friday.

Following their impressive victory over Western Province at Newlands the week before, the Sharks failed to secure the four-try bonus point at home - a cause of great concern, considering their next assignment is against the table-topping Lions in Johannesburg.

"We won't beat the Lions if we play like that, but we won't play like that ... we'll be a lot better than that," was Plumtree's bold assessment of his team's poor showing against the Leopards.

"We've had these nights before," the Sharks mentor said, adding: "We wanted to see some good football, and we didn't get it.

"It didn't help with the stop-start nature of the game - [the numerous] scrum resets, knock-ons, etc."

Plumtree was a little more complimentary when asked about the midfield combination of Meyer Bosman and Marius Joubert.

"They had their moments, but not enough space was created for them," the coach said.

"It looked like Meyer [Bosman] did pretty well defensively - there was pressure on him to make those tackles, so he was pretty good.

"It's still a bit of a dilemma for us," he said of his midfield scenario.

"I don't think they will be totally happy with themselves, but I don't think we will be happy as a group.

"It's hard to feel happy as an individual or a partnership or a combination when we didn't click [as a team]."