Neil: We can't take our feet off the gas
ALEX Neil has made sure his Norwich City teamâs entire focus is on Blackburn Rovers ahead of their trip to Ewood Park on Tuesday (7.45pm).The Canaries have Sundayâs East Anglian derby against Ipswich Town on the horizon, but first take on Gary Bowyerâs Rovers in the midweek programme of Sky Bet Championship fixtures.
Neil defined the game as Cityâs âmost importantâ of the season up to now.
âItâs got to be that way. Weâre at a stage at the moment where weâve got 14 games left, and we need to try and win as many as we can,â he told Norwich City TV before the game.
âWe canât take anyone lightly, and we canât take our feet off the gas for any game in particular. Weâve got to make sure that weâre full throttle for the full 14 games, and that starts at Blackburn.
âThis is the most important game of the season. Weâve got a derby on Sunday, but unless we win this one, that becomes less important. We need to make sure that we take the performances weâve been generating lately into this one.â
Saturdayâs victory at Watford marked the Canariesâ fourth in a row, and Neilâs side now sit just four points off the automatic promotion places in the table.
He is confident his players can maintain their form to meet the raised levels of expectation that come with success.
âI think, being at a club like Norwich, youâve got to do that. I think itâs something that Iâve had to adapt to quickly too; the expectancy levels of the fans, the players and everyone,â he said.
âWeâre expected to win games, weâre expected to be competitive, and if we play to our full potential, thereâs no reason why we canât be at the top end of the table.
âThatâs something weâve got to take on board, and with expectations youâve got to be able to deliver. Thatâs something that weâve done recently, and hopefully weâll continue to do.â
On Rovers, he added: âTheyâre a competitive side, and I think everybody in the Championship is capable of beating each other.
âWhen they beat Stoke in the FA Cup, that was a result that everybody looked at and thought what a great result it was. Theyâre capable on their day, and weâve got to make sure we limit that as much as we can and we have another good day.â
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