ALEX Neil says his players 'deserve all the credit' following Tuesday night's dramatic 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

The Canaries' unbeaten run looked to be in danger when Alex Baptiste's header gave Rovers a 1-0 half-time advantage at Ewood Park.

Cameron Jerome came off the bench to level, however, before Bradley Johnson struck a superb winner five minutes from time to wrap up a fifth victory on the spin.

"The players demonstrated how much it means to them in the second half. I was absolutely delighted for them that we managed to win the game," said Neil to Norwich City TV after the game.

"I think when you go a goal behind, you always fear the worst, particularly away from home. Them scoring kicked us into life a bit. From then until half-time, we rallied and had a few opportunities without creating real goalscoring chances.

"We had a chat at half-time, and then the second half was considerably better. They made the difference when we were one-nil down - that was a real test of character. How much do you actually want it?

"You can talk about it all you like, but the proof is in the pudding. I think for the second half they deserve all the credit."

Three points kept City within four of the top two in the Sky Bet Championship, and he says he's fully aware of what the win and keeping up hopes of promotion means to everyone associated with the Canaries.

Neil also looked ahead to Sunday's East Anglian derby against Ipswich Town for the first time.

"It's a great game (the derby) to be involved in. I'm really looking forward to it, but more importantly I hope we go and win the game and send the fans home happy," he added.

"I know for the fans it (promotion) means a huge amount to them, but I can assure you - to this group of players it means everything.

"They're working extremely hard and they know how much we want it. We're the guys tasked with going to get that, and we're trying our very best and we'll continue trying to do that."

He will hope to have Gary Hooper back for Sunday's game at Carrow Road, with the striker absent from the squad of 18 on Tuesday due to illness.

"He had a sickness bug. That was a bit of a blow for us, because Hoops has been doing really well, but he wasn't well and ultimately he couldn't be involved."

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ALEX NEIL: ALL CREDIT TO THE PLAYERS

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