While most Ottawans enjoyed a beautiful sunny Sunday, the Renegades were back at work yesterday.

It was supposed to be a day off, but the coaches were hard at work in a darkened room on the second floor of their headquarters at Frank Clair Stadium, breaking down tape of their next opponent, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Some players worked in the weight room or got treatment for injuries or watched film.

Friday night's manhandling by the Montreal Alouettes has already been filed away and the Renegades were pushing forward yesterday.

"You can't stay disappointed. Each day gets better," said Renegades coach Joe Paopao. "We're getting ready for Winnipeg. It's behind us. It's in the filing cabinet. That's where it belongs. You don't put more importance on one game than another. It's Week 4, not Week 20."

The Renegades beat the Bombers 37-25 in Winnipeg in the season opener. When they take to the field Friday at Frank Clair, the 'Gades will put their seven-game home winning streak on the line, the longest such current streak in the CFL.

They haven't lost at home since last July 31 against Edmonton.

"They're getting better," said Paopao of the Bombers, who picked up their first win of the season in an error-filled game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders Thursday night. "I think they made seven changes last week. When you're not winning, you have to find people who can do it. I think that's what (Bombers coach) Dave (Ritchie) is going through, finding some guys who can make some plays. It's not enough just to play hard."

Paopao said there will be no changes to the Renagades' approach after the loss to the Alouettes.

Why change what worked for the first three weeks?

"You've got to look at what you have. Is that going to make us better by working that approach? I don't know. I think you have to know what you have and you have to work it. We're an athletic team. Our speed has improved. We feel on game day, part of our edge is our conditioning and our ability to run.

"You want consistency. When they come to work, they know how things work around here. When you come to work, you better go because those coaches are pretty anal. You can't drive them into the ground because then they won't have any legs for the game."

BOIREAU GONE: The Renegades released DE Mike Boireau yesterday. A member of the original Renegades team in 2002, Boireau had not played this year because of a hamstring injury. "We have numbers. We have so many defensive linemen," said Paopao. Along with newcomers John Turntine and Kai Ellis, the 'Gades have Pene Talamaivo in the wings and Anthony Collier on the practice roster. "It's too bad because personally, I really like Mike," said Paopao. "The fact is when he was healthy he played well for us." Paopao said he thinks Boireau is good enough to catch on with another team.

THE END ZONE: DB Dave Donaldson appears to be the most seriously injured player out of Friday's game. He's got sore ribs. If he can't go, he could be replaced by George McCullough, who is about ready to return from a shoulder injury which kept him out of the last two games ... The Renegades might be able to count on DE Clinton Wayne (back) and LB Syniker Taylor (knee) this week as well. The Renegades run defence missed Wayne against the Alouettes ... One area Renegades QB Kerry Joseph has improved is cutting down his number of interceptions. He has thrown only three so far in four games (two against Montreal Friday night). He threw 20 in 16 games last year.