CITY boss Glenn Roeder said he was 'pleased overall' with the Canaries' final pre-season friendly against Colchester - and praised makeshift striker Darel Russell for the two well-taken goals which earned his side a draw.

With debutant Arturo Lupoli playing his first 45 minutes in City colours, Roeder said he had asked Russell before the game if he would be ok with playing the second half up front if called upon.

Roeder told First News: "His response was what I would expect from anyone who wants to play for Norwich City - very positive. He said 'boss, I want to play anywhere on the pitch' and that is exactly what you want to hear as a manager from one of the your professional players.

"As he left the office he told us that he had actually played up front very early on in his career and after seeing him today I can believe it. If Berbatov, Ronaldo or Adebayor had curled that first one in everyone would be raving about what amazing things these foreign players can do with a ball. Darel Russell has proved today that he can do it as well and I'm obviously pleased for him."

Overall the City manager was also pleased with a good work-out against a game League Once side, but felt there were some areas in which his side fell short of the mark.

He commented: "I thought we started very brightly and for the first 15 minutes or so were knocking the ball around well and Cureton has forced an excellent save from their 'keeper. After that though we just seemed to start going backwards. I told them at half-time that I wanted to see more direct play, getting the ball forward into danger areas more quickly and I felt we by and large did that. So there were some areas where we want to do better - such as conceding immediately after going ahead for example - but it was another good work-out with a bit more fitness under our belts."