CITY'S Assistant Manager Ian Butterworth has confirmed Sammy Clingan and Darel Russell will not be travelling with the Norwich squad, which starts its tour of Scotland tomorrow.

Neither midfielder figured in the 7-2 friendly win at Dartford and after the game Butterworth said the pair would be staying behind and training at Colney after attracting interest from other clubs.

He told First News: "There's obviously been interest in Sammy and Darel and we felt it was in the best interests of everyone concerned if they stayed at Colney to train and didn't travel with the squad. It's important for everyone in Scotland to be fully focussed on continuing our pre-season preparations."

He also confirmed defender Dejan Stefanovic would also miss the Scotland tour, as he stays at Colney to continue his recovery from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered last November.

Meanwhile Butterworth said he was pleased with the efforts of the players involved in the win over Dartford, with experienced, young and newly-signed members of the squad all contributing to a comfortable display.

"I'm pleased with all of the players. It's mostly about fitness at this stage and some of the lads out there have got an important 90 minutes under their belts today, which is good.  Yes you can get frustrated when there's a few bad touches or passes going astray, but it's early days and there are plenty of friendlies to go," he commented.

"The strikers have scored some good goals and that's always pleasing. As we start getting games under our belts we'll be looking for the strikers to be showing us they can find the net and they have made a good start today."