Manager Shaun Derry pulled no punches after Notts County’s disappointing pre-season loss to Birmingham City on Tuesday evening.
The Magpies gave away four sloppy goals against the Championship outfit, which left the backroom staff hugely unimpressed.
With just 11 days until Notts kick-off the 2014.15 Sky Bet League 1 campaign against Preston North End at Deepdale, Derry has demanded big improvements from his squad.
“I was disappointed and I think everyone that came would have shared my view of it,” he told Magpie Player.
“They were horrendous goals to give away - absolutely horrendous goals - and I think when that happens you’ve got absolutely no chance of winning football games.
“We conceded two in the space of five minutes and that really stopped us from doing anything in the first half.
“Then, you can see that the third and fourth goals were just as bad, so I’m not going to stand here and lie and say there were any positives out of the night because there wasn’t.
“We need to work hard - just like we have done since we came into the building.
“Nothing’s going to change overnight, of course, as we’ve got a new players coming in and we’ve got to find what ticks their boxes.
“Aside from that, there’s got to be a work rate and, for me, I didn’t see that on Tuesday night.
“I think you can tell that I’m pretty disappointed and I don’t want to see that kind of performance too many times again.”
Notts are in action again on Friday evening against Osasuna. For full ticket details, click here.