DEFENDER Adam Drury has welcomed the first midweek without a first team game this season and feels it has provided manager Paul Lambert and his staff overdue time to implement their ideas at Colney.
Monday night's trip to Stadium:MK to face Paul Ince's MK Dons side live on Sky comes nine days after City's last match and speaking to First News Drury said: "Before the break they haven't had a great chance to do stuff on the training ground, obviously you've got to try and keep the lads fresh and ready for games whereas with this nine days we've had, they've had the chance to do one or two more high intensity things in training, working on specifics they haven't had the chance to do so far.
"Training is definitely more intense, when a new manager comes in, you get the new manager syndrome, the lads straight away want to impress and get themselves in the team if they haven't been in it and it gives everyone a fresh chance. He has had some new ideas and new ways of training and it has been fantastic so far, the lads are thoroughly enjoying it, the way we have played and the results we have got show it has worked and we want to improve on that."
City's next two opponents are billed as promotion candidates with Charlton Athletic next up at Carrow Road following the visit to Milton Keynes: "These are obviously the games that people look at when they think are you going to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. They're no different to us either of these two teams, they want to be up there challenging like we do, so it is going to be a real challenge for us and we go into them positively and hopefully get something out of them."
With three consecutive clean sheets, Lambert has worked on making City a more resolute side since taking over three-and-a-half weeks ago: "Everyone knows what happened on the opening day of the game where we were too easy to break down and got torn apart that day. That is something he's identified and wanted to make us more solid, which we have down obviously seeing the results we have had. From a defenders point of view that is great but at the same time we've got to learn to break teams down and go on and win games."
"The way we play at the minute, we're a lot more compact and harder to break down. Obviously having Lapps (Simon Lappin) in front of you offers you something different because he can play left-back as well, so from my point of view it is a bit of a godsend. Si knows his job is also to get forward and create things."
Monday's meeting could pit Dury up against former Canary winger Luke Chadwick, but the left-back said City are concentrating on their own game: "We've done a bit of practice on how we're going to play and the way we will line up, we don't know the exact team yet. The next couple of days we'll work on how they'll play and who will be playing where for them. To be honest it's more concentrating on how we're going to play at the minute."
Having endured a frustrating goalless draw at Carrow Road against Walsall a week ago, playing away could provide an opportunity to play with more freedom as the visiting side: "I think it can do. When we are away, the onus is on the home team to perhaps come out and attack us a little bit more, which might suit us.
"As at home, teams come to Carrow Road and set out their stall. At the end of the day, it's going to be down to whatever we do and how we go out and we've got to improve and be good enough to break teams down."
