Canaries underway in 2015-16
ALEX Neil got what he wanted from his Norwich City players in their 7-0 opening pre-season win over Gorleston at Emerald Park on Saturday.Neilâs squad came through the contest injury-free â and had no trouble finding the goalscoring touch against their Thurlow Nunn Premier Division hosts.
Cameron Jeromeâs first half hat-trick set the Canaries on their way to a routine victory, with further strikes coming from the boots of Tony Andreu, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Lewis Grabban and Jonny Howson.
Speaking after the match, Neil said: âItâs important that we came here and tried to put on a bit of a show.
âWe wanted to get the guys working hard and playing in the manner that they should when they play any game. I think youâve seen that in both halves with the two teams that we had out.
âI thought it was a good, competitive game. They gave it their all and we worked really hard too. I thought we showed some good quality at times.
âTheyâve been working really hard over the course of pre-season so far, theyâre in good shape and I thought you could see part of that today.â
Saturdayâs game got Cityâs pre-season campaign underway, with six more warm-up matches planned ahead of their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on August 8.
Neil says he wants to strike a balance between fitness work and winning to help his team âkick onâ in the new campaign.
âItâs got to be a bit of both. When youâre involved in football, to say that you donât care whether you win, lose or draw is never going to be true. I want to win every game,â he told reporters.
âFirst and foremost itâs about fitness and not picking up injuries, but then itâs about making sure you go about your job in the right way.
âItâs about kicking on this year now. Regardless of what we did last season, itâs about this season now. If I donât do well this year, then it wonât matter.â
On Cityâs transfer pursuits, he added: âWeâre trying our best to make things happen, but itâs always difficult when youâre trying to get somebody elseâs players.
âWeâre trying to add to the squad to make it better.â