GRAEME Murty is looking for an improvement from his Under-18s side when they visit West Ham United on Saturday (11am).

A below-par performance last weekend saw City beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa, having previously impressed in a narrow defeat to Arsenal seven days earlier.

"The response has been good after a frank appraisal of the game with the players," the 41-year-old coach told canaries.co.uk.

"Everyone has been honest and open, and the players have been good on the training pitch since then. Once again though, it's now about how they apply themselves in the match.

"We're looking for them to put their words into action. It will be interesting to see who takes the lead in that, because that's what we're looking for.

"We want players to hold themselves and others to account. Individually and collectively they are growing, so they need to demonstrate that."

The young Canaries triumphed 3-1 in the reverse Barclays Under-18s Premier League fixture earlier this season, thanks to goals from Todd Cantwell, Benny Ashley-Seal and Jamal Lewis.

Murty is expecting a stern test from the Hammers this time around however, and added: "They've been on a really good run recently and are set to be audited this weekend.

"That means they're going to be strong in order to showcase their philosophy. We've got to be ready for that, and it's down to our approach as we need to produce a similar level to our last game against them.

"It's an opportunity for our players to stand up to a challenge. Without wishing to ramp it up too much, exposing them to a bit of pressure in a safe way is a really good tool for us.

"From that we can measure character, and how individuals respond differently. As a manager, you have to know that about your players."

CANARIES' FORM

L – 1-2 v Aston Villa (H) 14/11/2015 - Barclays U18s Premier League

L – 2-3 v Arsenal (H) 07/11/2015 - Barclays U18s Premier League

L – 7-0 v Chelsea (A) 31/10/2015 - Barclays U18s Premier League
D – 2-2 v Southampton (H) 24/10/2015 - Barclays U18s Premier League
L – 2-0 v Reading (A) 17/10/2015 - Barclays U18s Premier League

LAST NORWICH CITY U18s XI (v Aston Villa)

Oxborough; Syme, Odusina, Wallis, Boateng (Pollock, 62); Da Costa (Fleming, 85), Sambu, Black (c) (Kamal, 85), Aransibia; McIntosh; Couzens. Subs not used: Hale-Brown (GK), Payne.

U18s PREVIEW: WEST HAM

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