TODAY'S visit of Premiership Wigan Athletic signals the end of a pre-season schedule which City manager Bryan Gunn feels has boosted confidence within the City camp.
The Canaries remain unbeaten after eight friendly games over the last three weeks, and Gunn told canaries.co.uk he was pleased with performances so far.
"From our confidence point of view we're gaining from the fact we've been playing well, and worked hard in games," he said. "If we can gain more against a Premiership side like Wigan then I see that as a better way of going into the Colchester game than going in after a bad performance. I expect our players to go out, perform to the best of their ability and achieve a winning result if we can.
"The fact we're unbeaten so far this pre-season builds our confidence and over the past couple of seasons perhaps we've had too much of a losing mentality. Now the new signings have come in with a strong mental capacity and winning mentality - right from day one with the first signing Matty Gill, he's had back-to-back promotions with Exeter and he knows what it feels like to win and be successful.
"With all those guys together in the dressing room now, there's a toughness and a competitive streak. Everytime they wear a Norwich shirt out on the pitch they want to do well, not only for themselves but also for the supporters too. That's the winning spirit we've tried to build."
The Norwich boss added: "Every time the squad take to the pitch they have to impress. Every time they train it's an opportunity and everyone's keen to play, which is why I think we've had good results this pre-season.
"There's still places up for grabs for the Colchester game - at the moment, everyone's fairly fit and apart from a couple of fairly minor knocks we've been fortunate."
Tuesday night's victory over Crystal Palace left the squad with a few bumps and knocks within his squad, Gunn replied: "Simon Whaley had a dead leg after the game but he's been back to training. Adam Drury and Grant Holt both had a kick to their feet, but they both trained yesterday too."
After being stretchered off with a head injury in the 1-0 win at Selhurt Park, City defender Michael Nelson will miss the visit of Roberto Martinez's side: "We're going to leave Michael out, just for precautionary reasons," said Gunn. "He's desperate to play but at the same time it was a big bang to his head at Palace, he was out for about 15 seconds so we're not taking any chances. We'll give him a week's extra rest ahead of picking the side for the Colchester game, which is the important match."
He continued: "Rhoys Wiggins is still working with the physios but coming along very nicely, and Cody McDonald is in the squad for tomorrow's game. Whether Goran Maric and Jens Berthal Askou feature against Wigan depends on if they get international clearance in time. Dejan Stefanovic has been ill this week but he's back to training now, and again we'll continue to monitor him and his fitness levels."
Tickets for the match with Wigan Athletic are still available priced at £10 for adults, £5 for under-21s/over-60s and £3 for under-16s and will be purchasable from the ticket office at Carrow Road right up until kick-off. Supporters are advised to purchase in advance or arrive early to avoid congestion.
Alternatively seats are available by logging on to online ticketing, by calling 0844 826 1902, or by visiting the Canary Store in the Mall, Norwich.
