Alan Neilson: He is a leader on the pitch and off the pitch and he has been absolutely superb for us

Alan Neilson praised the leadership of his captain Jon Tomkinson has he scored two goals to help Norwich City to a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa at Carrow Road on Friday night.

The USA-born defender, sent a side volley home from close range to make it 3-1, following goal from Jon Rowe and Abu Kamara, before then glancing home a Tony Springett free kick to put the result beyond doubt.

The 19-year-old has recently been nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month for August, having also scored a late winner against Sunderland last time out, and Neilson said he brings a lot to the team.

"Jon is the captain and he is the captain for a reason," he said. "He is a leader on the pitch and he is a leader off the pitch and he has been absolutely superb for us.

"He was with Andrew (Omobamidele) last season and now he is an experienced player. He is only 19 but know he is the one that has got to lead us and he captains the team superbly. He drives us and with Jaden (Warner) alongside him they played really, really well."

The victory was marred slightly by a late injury to Springett, but Neilson confirmed it was not as bad as first feared and he should be fit for Monday's game at Colney.

Neilson also thanked the fans at Carrow Road for their support.

"I have got to say thank you to the fans," he said. "They were shouting and they were absolutely superb. Of course, they (the players) want to play here in front of 27,000 fans and that is why we have got to keep on pushing them every single day.

"Yes, it is a great result tonight, but we will be back in tomorrow and back in on Sunday and we have got a game Monday and we will push them again."