Notts County boss Martin Allen is not being distracted from the bread and butter of the league despite the friendly against European giants Juventus on Thursday night. Allen's squad are in Turin as guests of honour for an exhibition match to open the Serie A club's new 41,000-seater stadium, but they host Walsall on Saturday afternoon.
"I've not only been preparing for Juventus, I have also been looking to our game against Walsall because I have got to make sure the players will be right on it for both games and that is what is going to happen," said Allen.
"I have spoken to friends at Liverpool and Chelsea for advice on how to make sure the players recover properly so we will be staying over in Turin after the game rather than travelling back overnight.
"All the main training for the Walsall game will have taken place in Italy with the team that will play on Saturday. They will be ready, don't worry about that."
The Juventus match follows an historic link between the two clubs dating back to 1903, when a Juventus player, Englishman John Savage, helped arrange for the Italian club to wear the famous black and white kit that Notts, the Football League's oldest club, traditionally play in. Juventus have worn black-and-white stripes ever since.
