STEVEN Whittaker knows Norwich City are in control of their own destiny ahead of facing Derby County at Carrow Road on Saturday (3pm).

The Canaries enter the clash a single point behind their promotion rivals in the Sky Bet Championship table, with just ten matches of the regular campaign now remaining.

A eighth victory in nine could lift Alex Neil's side into the top two, and Whittaker told the media at Colney Training Centre on Friday afternoon: "There are a lot of teams fighting it out for automatic promotion but we're right in the mix and three points would hopefully get us on our way.

"We've managed to get ourselves on a great run so we'll go into the last stages of the season with great confidence. Each game from now is massive, especially when you can see it counting down so that you can almost touch it.

"If you can string a run of wins together you could pull away from the pack. We feel like we're playing well and we're not conceding too many goals, so that puts is in good stead.

"We just need to keep going and keep doing our jobs."

The Scotland international scored a potentially crucial goal the last time the two sides met, netting a 90th minute equaliser as the Canaries secured a 2-2 draw at the iPro Stadium in December.

Whittaker understands the importance of this weekend's contest, commenting: "These are the ones that matter, and the ones everyone is up for, although at the end of the day each match is worth three points.

"Sometimes if a team comes and sets themselves up defensively it can be quite hard to get momentum in the game and create chances, but I think this will be different. Derby will try to win the game, and we'll obviously be trying to do the same.

"It will make for an entertaining game, but we know what we need to achieve."

SPECIAL ISSUE OF 'OTBC' FOR MILK CUP REUNION WEEKEND
As the Canaries mark the 30th anniversary of the Club’s Milk Cup victory at Wembley, this weekend’s official programme for the Sky Bet Championship match with Derby County carries an exclusive interview with Wembley winner Mick Channon.

To mark the 30th anniversary reunion weekend, there will also be a full reproduction of the official programme from the 1985 Wembley final included with Saturday's programme. This bumper 132-page dual-cover souvenir issue will be priced at £4.

To buy it online, CLICK HERE.

STEVEN WHITTAKER: IT'S ALL TO PLAY FOR

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