City midfielder looks for bounce back against Leeds

BRADLEY Johnson is playing the long game when considering Norwich City's season.

The Canaries suffered a 1-0 defeat at Fulham on Saturday, extending their winless run to three in the Sky Bet Championship and losing their position at the summit of the table in the process.

Their combative midfielder, however, who has played every minute in the league so far, thinks they're still on target to reach their ultimate goal.

"It's nice to be top but we'd rather be top at the end of the season rather than in October," he told Norwich City TV after the game.

"It's always good to win games and be up in there, in the end we know it's a long hard season and that we're not going to win every game, but we know we'll be up there at the end of it and that's our aim.



"We're near the top of the league on merit because we've done so well, and we bring pressure on ourselves – we thrive on that pressure and we know we've got to put it right and give the fans something to cheer about on Tuesday (against Leeds United)."

Johnson refused to pin the blame on Lewis Grabban's shoulders after the striker saw his penalty come back off the crossbar just two minutes into the second half at Craven Cottage.

He said the team as a whole took responsibility for the disappointing result.

"He’s brave enough to get up there and take the penalty. We can't blame Lewis for missing it. He's a confident lad and I'm sure he'll score a lot of important goals for us," he added.

"You can't blame anyone for missing a penalty. We had enough of the ball and we didn't create enough chances, so we're all to blame.

"In the final third we weren't good enough and we've sat in there and we've talked about it, and now we've got to put it right because we can't keep coming into games and coming out with the same old story. Goals win you games and get you the three points."

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