A first Premier League start, a first Premier League goal and the sound of fans chanting his name at Carrow Road – a stadium until that moment he had longed to start a match at.
It has been a good start to 2022 for Norwich City's young Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah. A sustained run of games has seen him receive lots of praise but, of course, there is still plenty of work to be done.
Adam sat down with OTBC, ahead of the game with Manchester City, to reflect on the recent good form, his journey with the club and what the rest of the season holds for him and the team. Here is his interview.
OTBC: Norwich City started 2022 with four wins and a draw from seven games. How pleased are the team with the upturn in form?
AI: Yes, it has been a brilliant start to the year. I think that is what we needed in terms of getting points on the board. We just need to keep this run going. We have got great confidence in the team now and we have got a lot of belief that we can stay up this season.
OTBC: You made your first Premier League start for Norwich in the game at West Ham United. Considering how heavily you have been involved in this season, in terms of appearances, it was quite a surprising stat. However, all of your previous 11 appearances before that had been off the bench. How much easier do you find it, to put in a good performance, when you start games?
AI: It's easier, because coming off the bench you might only be getting five or 10 minutes and then it is quite hard to try and get involved in the game, but when you are starting games you get that momentum and confidence. You then start to get more confident about getting on the ball and maybe having a shot here and there. So, for me, getting a run of games was the thing that I needed to be able to showcase what I can do, and it is paying off.
OTBC: That was evident in the West Ham United game as well because it was early on in that match where you turned one of their defenders, Vladimír Coufal, and then after that you did it two or three times in that game and caused them plenty of problems.
AI: Yes, that is what I like to do. That is my job and once I have that bit of confidence in me, I can go and try and produce these things and take a bit of a risk. I think that is what we needed, as a team, for some of us to take a risk and it is paying off, because obviously we are doing the right things now.
OTBC: You were quite unlucky not to get your first Premier League goal in that game as well.
AI: Yes, that would have been my best goal so far, so I was unlucky not to score it, but the first Premier League goal came in the next match, so it didn’t matter too much.
OTBC: Yes, it came in the match against Everton, which was also your first start at Carrow Road. How pleasing a moment was it for you to get that goal?
AI: It was an amazing feeling, obviously. It was, as you said, my first start at Carrow Road and that is something I have always wanted to do in this team. So, to be able to get my first Premier League goal in that moment as well was unbelievable – I can’t even put it into words how I felt that day.
OTBC: The fans were also chanting ‘Adam Idah, he’s one of our own’. How much did that mean to you?
AI: Yes, it was great. As a player, once you are playing, to hear your name is an unbelievable feeling, especially as my family were in the crowd. For them to hear it was great and it just gives me that bit of confidence to go on and play how I play.
OTBC: Do your family get to Carrow Road regularly to watch you play?
AI: They do now, but not during the Covid-19 pandemic obviously. However, they have been over now, quite a bit, to watch games and my girlfriend has come to quite a lot of games. So, it has been great to have them around and to watch me play some games.
OTBC: That chant, ‘he’s one of our own’, links to the fact that you have come through the academy here at Norwich City. The club has a great reputation for producing players through the academy. Just give us an insight into your time at Norwich City’s Academy and the level of coaching and facilities that are available for players at the Lotus Training Centre.
AI: I was 15 or 16 when I moved over to Norwich. The training ground was a little bit different then, but I have enjoyed every moment of it. I have had ups and downs in the academy, but the coaching staff and everyone within the club were excellent towards me and drove me to get to where I am today. All the players around me: Max (Aarons), Ben (Godfrey) Jamal (Lewis), Todd (Cantwell), were players that I wanted to be like at that time. Luckily enough I am able to share the pitch with them now, or play against them, so the academy did me the world of good and I really enjoyed my time there.
OTBC: Norwich City have switched in recent weeks to a 4-4-2 formation, as well as playing in a 4-3-3. The 4-4-2 line-up puts you a bit more centrally alongside Teemu Pukki in the team. How much do you enjoy playing that role?
AI: I love that role. Teemu, as you know, is a great striker. He has scored many, many goals for this club and to be able to play alongside such a legend like Teemu is great; to get that experience from him and to learn from him is excellent and hopefully there will be many more games where I can play alongside him.
OTBC: Seeing those players in the first team showed you the pathway from the academy into the first team and was an inspiration. I guess now you are that player to the likes of Jonathan Rowe, Tom Dickson-Peters, Abu Kamara and others, who have performed well in the under-23s this season.
AI: Yes, definitely, because when I was in the under-18s, the under-23s, and looking up to Max, Ben, Jamal and Todd, that is where I wanted to be, and I knew that there was a pathway because they have also been through what I have been through. Look, Jonathan Rowe has played a couple of games now and I think it is his time to put in the hard work and try and make his way into the squad. I’m sure the coaching staff have a lot of belief and trust in him because he has been doing great in training. I think the structure that we have at this club is great for young players. It gives you the belief that if you do work hard enough you will get your chance.
OTBC: What are the coaching staff – such as Dean (Smith), Craig (Shakespeare) and Liam (Bramley) – like and how much have they helped develop your game during the last few months?
AI: Yes, they have been excellent with me. When they first came in we did some individual sessions. It was just simple things like finishing and looking at my clips and that really did help me and, obviously, I then got my start against West Ham United and that is where it got going for me. They gave me that chance and now it is my time to repay them.
OTBC: How much confidence do you take from that belief and that trust that Dean (Smith) and the coaching staff have placed in you?
AI: Yes, it definitely gives you a bit of a confidence boost because you know that if you perform well they will keep you in the team. That was a great thing for me and that is all we needed. Just to get that run of games and to get my first goal. It gives me that extra bit of motivation to work hard as well, because I know if I do slack then I might not be in the team. So, I just need to keep playing well and keep myself in the team.
OTBC: Finally, for the rest of the season, the aim as a team is to stay in the Premier League but do you have any personal goals between now and the end of May?
AI: Look, to be honest I am only really focusing on the team. Our main focus is to stay in the Premier League and I am sure that is the same with everyone else. It is about trying to get as many points as we can stay in the Premier League and if we carry on the way we are, hopefully, we can do that.
Interested in reading more about Adam Idah? Visit his player profile here