CITY boss Peter Grant has called on his suspension and injury-ravaged side to prove the horror show at Wolverhampton Wanderers was a one-off.

The Canaries travel to Manchester City in the Carling Cup looking to salvage some pride in a week which began with the "embarrassing" 2-0 loss at Molineux.

In the end, the scoreline flattered City, with winger Darren Huckerby declaring it was the weakest Norwich side he'd played in.

Grant has called on his players to put that display behind them, beginning with the trip to the north west to face Sven Goran Eriksson's Premier League high-flyers.

And the City manager admitted the past few days had been difficult for everyone connected with Carrow Road.

"I'd love to say it was (a one-off)," said Grant, at Monday afternoon's Colney press conference.

"But I don't think we've come anywhere near second gear performance-wise. We've had bits and bobs. Thirty minutes against Southampton, a period against Cardiff. We could have won by five against Crystal Palace without playing anywhere near what we're capable of.

"And I'm finding it difficult to get the right balance in the middle of the pitch. At this moment in time we don't have the right balance in there.

"It was tough yesterday, it was tough Saturday night. It's always tough when you lose games of football, but how you lose them makes it tougher. And the way we lost on Saturday was very tough to take."

City travel to the City of Manchester Stadium without a number of key players. Dion Dublin is serving the second game of his three match suspension, while Jason Shackell and Julien Brellier join him on the sidelines after their red cards in the west midlands.

Adam Drury is almost certain to miss out with a back injury, with Luke Chadwick also absent as he recovers from a hamstring strain.

Nevertheless, Grant said he would play his strongest available side as he looks to bounce back from a nightmare seven days in charge.

"We know it's going to be a very, very tough call," said Grant. "If I had everyone fit it would be a very tough call. But it's a fantastic arena to go and play in. Sometimes in life there are surprises around the corner. If you had said to me we would go and play as poorly as we did on Saturday I'd never have expected that.