The Oxford United boss was dismayed as cash-strapped Exeter's players showed far greater determination to win the Division 3 match at a cold, wet and windswept Kassam Stadium.

And he showed his displeasure by ordering the players back in for extra training at 10 o'clock yesterday morning.

"Exeter had more desire than ourselves and that disappointed me.

We haven't got enough players showing enough desire, but it's nothing different - I've known it for a while, and it's something I've got to rectify," he said.

"Exeter won every single ball that we knocked forward. It just kept coming back into us and we never got any good possession, never got any momentum going. But you won't get that unless you've got the desire to go and win the game of football.

"They don't know how lucky they are. They've got a magnificent crowd and a terrific stadium.

I've known for a while about the problems here. I'm a passionate person myself, I like to win, I like things set up properly, my training done properly and I look at each individual in training as well.

"This week it hasn't been quite right in training in one or two things at the club and I've sorted it out."

Atkins said he was likely to announce which players will not be retained as soon as United were mathematically safe.

They are thankful that only one club is relegated from the third division - and that bottom club Halifax seem truly awful.

"The players let themselves down; they let a wonderful set of supporters down and at the end of the day, they've let me down more than anything, because I'm the one who prepares them and it reflects on me.

"We made Exeter look better than they were because every time they had the ball we didn't go and put them under pressure."