Boss gives his thoughts on City's Premier League schedule
ALEX Neil is confident Norwich City can make a positive start to life back in the Barclays Premier League after the Canariesâ fixture list was revealed on Wednesday.Neilâs team will host Crystal Palace in their curtain-raiser at Carrow Road on Saturday August 8, followed by their opening away game at Sunderland and then a home fixture versus Stoke City.
They do not face any of last seasonâs top five until the trip to Manchester City on October 31 â their 11th fixture â and their manager believes that will provide a platform for his team to build from.
âWe havenât got any of the âbig boysâ, if you like, in the first few games. Obviously you want to start the season and try to get points on the board as early as you can,â he told canaries.co.uk.
âCertainly looking at the fixtures it gives us a good opportunity to do that, but as we know every game at this level will be tough.
âItâs good to get a home game initially. Hopefully itâs a game where we can go and try to start the season well but Palace did exceptionally well last season.
âWhen Alan Pardew went in there he turned their fortunes around and they had a really strong second half of the season. We know itâs going to be a difficult game but hopefully we can take the momentum from last season into it.â
Cityâs final three games include visits to Arsenal and Everton, with their final home match against Manchester United sandwiched in between.
Neil isnât fazed by the challenge, however, adding: âYouâre going to have to face those teams at some stage, whether itâs at the start of whether itâs at the end. To be honest, it doesnât really matter.
âI wouldnât say that there is one period I look at and think âthatâs a concernâ, even though if youâre not performing well in the Premier League then itâs all going to be a concern.
âIf youâre doing your job properly, youâre prepared and youâre functioning well, then any game is winnable. Weâve just got to go into any game full of confidence and try to do as best we can.
âWeâre really looking forward to it, and hopefully we can get off to a good start.â
For Norwich City's Premier League fixture list in full, CLICK HERE.