NORWICH City boss Alex Neil is relishing the start of the new season, following the release of the 2016-17 Sky Bet Championship fixtures on Wednesday.

His side are set to begin their campaign on Saturday, August 6 at Blackburn Rovers, ahead of home games against Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City.

Speaking exclusively to canaries.co.uk, Neil said: "Blackburn is going to be a tough game, but it's one we're looking forward to.

"Before we last played them, the Club didn't have a great record up there. However, we managed to fix that the last time we went there and it helped get us to the Premier League.

"We've then got a couple of home games, which hopefully gives us a good chance of making a good start. It's important we do that in order to give us a platform to build upon.

"With the Ipswich game following, that will really appeal to the appetite of the fans. They'll be looking forward to that early doors, which is great."

Neil said his team are ready to embrace the challenge that awaits them, and added: "The squad, apart from those at the Euros, have had their rest.

"They're now eager to get back to work, and to come back fit and ready for the new season. Everybody is now focused fully on this year, rather than last year, which is good.

"Every match in this division is going to be a test, but we want to make sure we have a successful season."

Please note, dates and times of matches listed in the draft fixture list are subject to change.

ALEX NEIL: WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT

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