NOTTS County were booted out of their Burton training base by England this week – but boss Keith Curle did not mind one bit.
The Magpies face Carlisle United in League One today and instead of admiring Wayne Rooney and co as Roy Hodgson's Three Lions built-up to their World Cup qualifier against San Marino at the new £100m National Football Centre, Curle says his players have been training like tigers back in Nottingham.
And he insists they are determined to get back to winning ways at Brunton Park, after slipping from top to seventh in League One and losing their last two games against leaders Tranmere Rovers and second-placed Stevenage.
"There has been a nice level of aggression in training," he said.
"The players know they are competing for places because there were four or five below par last Saturday.
"They have been very lively and were getting half a yard closer to each other and that is what we have got to do today.
"We have got to make it a very competitive game against Carlisle."
Curle says his players have been steering clear of the papers.
"They don't enjoy losing, I can assure you of that," he added.
"There was a bit of a lull and a downer on Monday because they don't like reading the papers and seeing where we are in the league table from where we were.
"We are going to lose during the course of the season, every team does. The important thing is how quickly we can respond."
It is only the second time since Curle took charge eight months ago that Notts have lost back-to-back games.
"This is the other side of the job," he said.
"Being manager when the team is winning is fantastic and a lot of people will say it's very easy.
"The flip-side of that is that when results are not favourable it's probably the worst job you can have because suddenly everyone turns round and it's your fault.
"It's all part of the job and I thrive on it.
"The focus is on how quickly we can turn it around and get back to winning ways."
Curle is considering making changes against Carlisle.
"I'm not a knee-jerk reaction type of person, I'm not a ranter and a raver," he added.
"I expect players in this division to make mistakes."
