After tonight’s 1-2 win over Birmingham City at St Andrew’s, the Canaries now have four wins in four.
Dean Smith made two changes from victory over Sunderland at the weekend, replacing Onel Hernández and Liam Gibbs with Sam Byram and Aaron Ramsey.
The head coach spoke to canaries.co.uk after the match. He said: “It was a hard-working performance again. We probably lacked a little bit of fluidity and creativity, but they made it very hard.
“They went man-to-man in midfield and tried to stop us getting in behind them and we perhaps played a little bit too much low risk in the first half.
“Our full backs were the main dangers who probably got in the box the most to cause problems for them in the first half.”
Andrew Omobamidele’s goal brought the visitors level after a scramble in the box, and Onel Hernández secured victory in the 93rd minute.
“When we went behind we had to do something different to try and change it up and I thought the players did that themselves on the pitch after the goal, but then we have the strength to do that with the subs as well.
“I thought on the balance of chances we deserved the win. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins and we will play better to win in the future but at the moment this bunch of lads find a way to win and that’s really healthy. It was tough but we got there in the end.
“I felt that Birmingham stopped our rhythm and wanted to stop the players moving quickly. They denied the space behind. We had to be a little bit cuter and take more risks on the ball, certainly in the middle third and creation zones.
A double substitution saw the Cuban international and Teemu Pukki bring fresh legs into the side and ultimately create the difference between the two sides.
“We had the majority of possession but there weren’t many chances. I thought the subs again helped, Onel came on with Teemu and straight away that gave us a big lift.
“Onel created three or four chances and got the winner at the end. That period was what got us the win in the end.”
Kenny McLean returned to his midfield position as Sam Byram started in the left back position for the Canaries.
“I thought Sam’s performance was okay, it was only his second game back, he’s played 80 minutes today. He missed a lot of pre-season through injury, but he was once of our most advanced players in the first half.
“We’re pleased that we got him, he adds height to us defensively in the penalty box and in set pieces. He knows the game and he’s good on the ball. We’re pleased with how he’s progressing.”
The Yellows brought 1,685 travelling fans to St Andrew’s, all of who were vocal throughout the match.
“The crowd were a massive impact, it was nice to go over and celebrate with them and all the players. It’s another long journey for them, for a night game as well, they won’t be getting back until the early hours.
“We’re really thankful for the support and it’s nice to try and turn around the disappointment of the tough season in the Premier League.
“All of a sudden, we’ve got that winning feeling again where we’ve won four on the spin and it’s nice to see the supporters enjoying it with the players.