Manager sees opportunity for points in meeting with former club
CHRIS Hughton was pleased to report a clean bill of health for the players who returned from international duty this week â but did confirm that Ricky van Wolfswinkel will once again be absent from the squad for Saturdayâs trip to Newcastle United.Cityâs Dutch international forward continues to be side-lined with a toe muscle injury.
âRicky will miss out at the weekend. Itâs one thatâs taken a little bit of time. The good news is that itâs not a serious injury, but itâs taken a little bit of time to heal so he will certainly miss out on Saturday,â said the Canariesâ manager at his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
âThankfully, there are no problems with any of the lads who have been on international duty.
âIf Iâm looking for any fresh injuries, then we donât have any. Most people know where we are with Elliott Bennett and Alex Tettey, who are both out for a period of time.
On van Wolfswinkelâs continued trouble, Hughton added: âWe need to make sure he gets the rest that he needs. Itâs just a toe problem. Sometimes these delicate ones can take a little bit longer.â
The Canariesâ boss does wish that his team would have had a game sooner after the 3-1 triumph over West Ham United a fortnight ago to continue momentum, but still thinks they can take plenty from what was a âbig winâ in the context of the season.
âWhen youâre on the back of a win, and youâve got a little bit of momentum, then of course they are the times that youâre very much looking forward to the next game,â he explained.
âItâs certainly a better feel going into the international break on the back of a win though. If youâve lost that game, that two weeks can become a very long two weeks.
âIt was a big win for us against West Ham, but weâre also very conscious of where we are in this league. Weâre not that many points away from teams that are deemed to have had a good start to their season.â
One of those is Newcastle, who are on the back of impressive consecutive victories over Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the league â Hughton, however, is keen to emphasise the positives as prepares to face his former team.
âTheyâre in good form at the moment but they have been beaten at home. You have to try and look for all the positives that you can,â he said.
âItâs a wonderful stadium to go to, and if their team are doing well, their fans can drive them on. I would want every single one of my players to look forward to going there.â