Norwich City head coach Dean Smith said that he has been really impressed with the attitude and hard work the players have shown in training ahead of Saturday’s visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Dean was taking his first full week of training with the players having recorded a win in his first match in charge against Southampton last Saturday.
Therefore, it was his first chance to get a proper look at the whole squad and on the back of a positive result he says the confidence, belief and mentality of the players has been spot on.
“There is a growing belief in the group, but we know, under myself, it is only one game and one result,” he said.
“It is back-to-back wins in the Premier League which is very hard to come by, but we are playing against a very good team now in Wolves who are in good form, I think they have won five of their last seven games.
“Bruno (Lage) has gone in there and adapted their style and it will be a tough game for us, but we are at home again and if the second half atmosphere [against Southampton] is anything to go by, if we can get the supporters behind us, then it will be a tough place to come.”
Speaking about training since he has come in as manager, Dean added: “What I have been pleased with is the attitude; how they approach training and the work ethic.
“That has been really, really good. That is one of the biggest things you need if you are going to be successful. We know we have got a tough task ahead of us with the start that we have had but if the attitude is anything to go by then we have got a really good chance.”
Dean’s first game in charge saw Norwich come from behind to win against Southampton after what he described as a below par first-half performance. The second half was much improved and the new head coach said the players have now set the standards that they must reach.
“We made one change at half-time, and we tweaked a little bit of the tactics, but we just asked more of the players in the second half to get up to the ball,” reflected Dean.
“We got a reaction from them, which is what we want. They have set themselves them standards now and we just felt that felt there was safety by numbers and that we dropped into a low block too early. In this league I feel you have to go and engage teams and we did that well.”
*Dean Smith’s preview ahead of our game with Wolverhampton Wanderers has been brought to you in association with Football Manager.