PAUL Lambert is hopeful the loan capture of Preston striker Stephen Elliott will be a welcome boost to his City squad as they look to make their final promotion push to the end of the season.

Elliott successfully completed a medical this morning and with his loan now ratified by the football authorities the 26-year-old goes straight into contention for tomorrow's game with Yeovil Town at Carrow Road (3pm).

Lambert commented: "It doesn't matter if it's a striker, midfielder or a defender, I think when you're doing well is the time to boost it on again and that's my thinking, not when you're struggling."

With City currently the top scorers in League One Lambert was asked about his decision to bring in another striker to Carrow Road: "If anything happens to somebody else you have to have other people to come in and give the other ones a hand," he said. "Cody (McDonald) is injured and Luke (Daley) is coming back from injury, so we don't really have that much cover.

"It's incredible at the minute what Oli Johnson has done, Chris (Martin) is only 21 and Grant (Holt) has been great for us, but if anything happens to them we don't have that many."

On the Preston striker's attributes, the City boss said: "Elliott is an international and only 26. He's played about nine times for Ireland, he's played in the league above us and he was at Man City, Wolves and Sunderland. He knows the game and I think it's vital that we bring somebody in who boosts the lads and keeps them on their toes."

Having experienced promotion twice with Sunderland, Lambert hopes his experience will help his new Canary team-mates: "He knows exactly what it's about, and he also knows Doc (Doherty) and Wes (Hoolahan) from Ireland."

He added: "He's different from what we've got. He'll chase lost causes that's for sure, and I hope he'll do great for us."

With just 12 games left of the 2009-10 campaign the City boss wants to do everything possible to maintain the freshness of his team and their position as league leaders.

"You can never tell if anyone is going to get injured or suspended. It's in the lap of the gods when they go out on the pitch, you just hope everyone gets through it.

"You're hoping to get everyone fit and keep everyone involved in it, and we're making headway.

"Adam (Drury) trained yesterday, which is good. Zak (Whitbread) and Cody (McDonald) aren't hopefully too far away, so we're making good headway on it."

Tuesday's reserve game against Colchester United saw the return of midfielder Owain Tudur Jones, who has just completed a one-month loan spell with tomorrow's visitors Yeovil. The Canaries' boss said the move had given the Welshman some important game time, but he had not discussed a return to Huish Park for the midfielder with Glovers boss Terry Skiverton.

"I never spoke to Terry but no doubt I'll see him tomorrow. Owain's back with us and he just gets going again."

The match against The Glovers comes off the back of a tough 1-0 victory at Boundary Park last weekend, and the Norwich manager is expecting more of the same from City's opponents tomorrow: "You're never comfortable at 1-0. Fraser has to make a save near the end and Oldham isn't an easy place to play because of the slope and the wind, so delighted to win the game as it's a hard place to play. It keeps us going and I'm delighted with them winning, but that's what the game is about, it's about winning."

City's two previous games with Yeovil this season have already produced 10 goals, but as long as the Canaries claim the three points that is all that matters to the former Scotland international: "You just want to win the game, yes we want to entertain people, but Yeovil are a good side and it's a hard game."