Neil: We know what our task is
NORWICH City must ârise to the challengeâ as the Sky Bet Championship season nears its climax.Thatâs the view of Alex Neil, who leads his team into this Saturdayâs promotion clash with Derby County (3pm) knowing they need to continue to produce their best form between now and May.
Ahead of the game, the Canariesâ boss spoke exclusively to Norwich City TV.
âThe intensity is going to be cranked up between now and the end of the season,â he said.
âWeâve got to make sure that we rise to that challenge, and that starts against Derby. Itâs a crucial game, a top of the table clash, so we need to make sure weâre on it on Saturday.
âYou canât afford to have an off day any more. Weâve had one or two since I came in, and out of 12 games thatâs not too bad, but weâll be looking to improve on that in the next ten games.
âWeâve prepared well for the game, we know exactly what our task is and how weâre going to go about it, and itâs just about performing on the day now.â
City will be boosted by the returns of Sebastien Bassong (knee) and Alex Tettey (suspension) as they look to leapfrog their visitors in the table with victory at Carrow Road.
Derby are winless in three but Neil believes points arenât indicative of their true form.
âIf you look at the games theyâve lost, theyâve been dominant in the match,â he commented.
âTheir possession stats have been good and theyâve had a lot of shots at goal, theyâve just not had that rub of the green or that final bit of quality to see them over the line. Weâre obviously hoping that continues tomorrow.
âWeâre the home team, weâve got to go and try and win the game. I think Derby donât really play any other way, if Iâm being honest. Theyâre quite an attacking team with the players that theyâve got.
âWeâre going to have to make sure first of all that we put our game onto them and try and dictate it if we can. Hopefully if we can do that, we can limit their opportunities.â
On Thursday, Michael Turner completed an emergency loan move to Fulham until the end of the season, and on that news Neil added: âThe thinking was that Michael wasnât getting any game time.
âHe was getting a bit frustrated and he wanted to play some football. In terms of that area, weâre well covered. Weâve got Carlos Cuellar, Ryan Bennett and Ignasi Miquel.
âMichaelâs game time was limited, and I felt it was important for him that he went and played somewhere.â
SPECIAL ISSUE OF 'OTBC' FOR MILK CUP REUNION WEEKEND
As the Canaries mark the 30th anniversary of the Clubâs Milk Cup victory at Wembley, this weekendâs official programme for the Sky Bet Championship match with Derby County carries an exclusive interview with Wembley winner Mick Channon.
To mark the 30th anniversary reunion weekend, there will also be a full reproduction of the official programme from the 1985 Wembley final included with Saturday's programme. This bumper 132-page dual-cover souvenir issue will be priced at ÂŁ4.
To buy it online, CLICK HERE.