SPEAKING at this morning's press conference, manager Paul Lambert said the fitness of several players is still being monitored ahead of the trip to Carlisle United on Saturday (3pm).

The City boss will be monitoring the recovery of right-back Jon Otsemobor (hamstring) and midfielder Darel Russell (neck) but is hopeful top goalscorer Grant Holt will be fit to face Greg Abbott's side.

"We'll have to wait and see. We'll have to train today and see if there's any adverse reaction to their knocks. We'll make the decision today and I'm just hopeful we get a few back from the other night.

"With Grant I'm hopeful, we'll see how he's feeling this morning. He's a great player and he's done really well for us since he's been here."

Lambert is still without defender Michael Nelson and midfield duo Matt Gill and Owain Tudur Jones, while Michael Spillane's hamstring injury is likely to see him sidelined for at least a couple of weeks.

The Canaries will also be without goalkeeper Declan Rudd and midfielder Stephen Hughes as the pair are on international duty with England Under-19s and Scotland respectively. Hughes is hoping to win his first full international cap, having previously been capped at 'B' level.

The City boss said despite Greg Abbott's side currently sitting in position of 19th in the league table, the trip to Carlisle will certainly not be one the Canary camp take lightly:

"It will be a tough game, Greg's got them going well and they are hard-working. I've been up there a few times and it's a hard place, but we're playing well enough to go there and look to win."

With speculation this week linking City with a move for Exeter defender Danny Seaborne, Lambert said the search for new players to strengthen the squad was on-going:

"We've tried numerous times to get people in. Sometimes it doesn't happen and sometimes it does, but it's not for the lack of trying."