Playing football, talking about football and eating. Those are the three main...
Playing football, talking about football and eating. Those are the three main ingredients of the staple diet in the England camp and they were all in evidence on Sunday where the schedule was training, lunch, press conferences and dinner...
The day began with a hearty nine o'clock breakfast courtesy of Roger the chef before the squad made their way down for their training session at the immaculate Rockliffe Park complex.
It was good to see all 23 players out there and everyone put in a committed display. Owen Hargreaves' early challenge on Ashley Cole showed Sven and the rest of the boys that, if the ball was there to be won, he was going to go for it.
Joe Cole, full of life after his stunning free-kick last week, was dashing around too no doubt keen to convince the boss that he deserves another outing on Wednesday.
Goal of the session went to the skipper Michael Owen for his stunning finish after a neat lay-off from his mate Steven Gerrard. That was a reversal of roles from when the duo combined for England's opener against Serbia and Montenegro.
Watching on with interest from the sidelines was an old friend of all the players and coaches - Steve McClaren. "I was just passing so I thought I'd pop in," he joked before renewing acquaintances with the friends he made in his time as England coach.
The way Sven ran over to greet Steve was ample evidence of the regard he has for Middlesbrough's hugely impressive manager.
After lunch Sven and his coaching staff departed to re-watch Saturday's match between Slovakia and Turkey while Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and Phil Neville went to meet the nation's press.
It says something about the youth and promise of Sven's squad that players as young as Steven and Ashley in particular should have already established themselves as Senior members of the squad.
Slovakia, meanwhile, arrive on Monday. Expect preparations to shift up a further gear then.
From Daniel Freedman at the England Team base in Redworth Hall, Durham
Stay logged-on to TheFA.com for all the latest news and views from inside the England camp...