Norwich City head coach Daniel Farke responded to questions surrounding the eventual return of fans to football stadia at his pre-Rotherham press conference on Friday.
Unsurprisingly, Farke wants supporters returning to Carrow Road and grounds across the country as soon as possible, but understands the procedure can’t be rushed.
“We have to trust the experts and be careful,” he said. “If it's the right thing to play without fans we have to accept it. I don't like it because they're such an important part and it still feels strange behind closed doors.
“Everything worked well during our pilot project of allowing fans in, but I just hope that step by step we return to normality as soon as possible. Football is a game for fans and it should be fun for everyone involved.”
Turning attention to Saturday’s game at Rotherham, Farke looked back on his side’s 2-1 win at the AESSEAL New York Stadium in the 2018/19 season, recalling how tough the Millers proved to be on that day.
“I remember our away game at Rotherham in our title-winning season,” he said. “It was difficult and close. They've had a decent start and only lost once. It's difficult to break and beat them, but we want to be successful and earn the next points under our belt.
“One topic we've worked on is cracking deep defending opponents. It's tricky when many of your offensive threats aren't available, but we tried to work on it with those who were here so that was beneficial.”
Teemu Pukki and Kenny McLean are two of those offensive threats who were busy representing their nations across the international break, and both returned to East Anglia off the back of encouraging displays.
“I don't over interpret how our players do for their national teams because they play differently,” Farke said. “I'm just concerned with their fitness levels, but of course I saw Pukki look sharp in both games.
“It was good for McLean to score a penalty in a key moment, especially good for us! If they come back with a boost in confidence, it's always good.”
