Philippe Clement is expecting a tough test against Bristol City on Saturday, with Norwich City looking to continue their recent positive run of results at Ashton Gate.
The Canaries head into the final fixture before the international break following a strong midweek performance against Derby County, with Clement discussing squad competition, the demands of the Championship and the challenge posed by the Robins.
Looking back at the victory over Derby, was it everything you wanted from your team?
“I think a lot of positives. It was a really good game where, from the beginning until the end, we had almost domination of the game, with a lot of good chances, good football and good defending as a team.
“Also, if you saw the effort that Musaba, Andre [Brooks] and Paris [Maghoma] did without the ball. That's the football I want to see and that's what we've been working on already for months now.
“To have both sides of the game and to have consistency in what we do, and not to have it one time yes and two times not, or two times yes and one time not. To have consistency in everything we do, with and without the ball.”
With more players available, how important is it to keep everybody invested when making selection decisions?
“You need to disappoint players. That's part of the job, but it's part of their life also to show that they're the best.
“That's part of this industry or having this job as a football player. It's always the case that you need to fight for your place and show every day that you are the best in competition with others, but having a good relationship with others.
“That's been the case until now, so I don't have any complaints about that with the group. They're all doing that. They're a really good bunch of lads together and they enjoy their time.
“They relish that competition and push each other upwards. I think two of the best examples have done that and stopped international football now, that's Messi and Ronaldo.
“They got fuel out of this competition every time to change their boundaries and become better and better. That's the life of a football player.
“Otherwise, you cannot have a club that wants to be competitive in a relentless league like the Championship.”
You've had more opportunities to work with Ante [Crnac] recently. Do you now have a clearer idea of his best position?
“I know Ante better now. I think he can play on the sides and he can play central. But I have the feeling now what is his best position.
“We need to look also towards the team, what the team needs in moments. So I'm not going to say which one I think is the best, because otherwise you're going to say the next time, 'But he's not playing in his position' or 'he should play in that position'.
“But yeah, I have a better view about Ante.”
Mo Touré's international tournament has been shifted. How positive is that news for the club?
“I don't drink too much alcohol, but it was a moment that I wanted to open a bottle of champagne or something. I didn't do that though!
“But no, I was really happy with that announcement because otherwise we would have had a lot of tough talks probably with the Australian Federation, because it would have been not a good idea for Mo to go to the tournament.
“I know also it's important for the national team, so that would have been a difficult situation for sure.
“So we're really pleased that he can come back and that we can work with him in general also.”
Around 14 games into the season, is the Championship beginning to take shape?
“I think it's too early to say that in this league. You've seen that last season also. That's the interesting thing about this league and why everybody loves this league, because things can change really fast.
“You can be up there and you can be down there at the end of the season, even when you're up there now for the moment, and the other way around.
“So it's about consistency, and that's what we work on really hard with the team, to get it in their heads, in their bodies, that consistency in performances is so important.
“I don't think, for everybody who followed our games, that we have the points that we deserved in this series of games. But that's the past, so we need to make up for that in all these games to come.”
Does the division feel like it has more quality than last season?
“Yeah, I think so, to be honest. Yeah, for sure. I see a few teams with more quality.
“I don't see a team like Coventry last season really taking a lot of points and cruising through the season. When we played them, I think we were the better team in that home game.
“I don't see anybody cruising through this season. I don't see it happening because there's much more competition now.
“There's also a lot of ambition because of the more play-off spots, that more people feel like we can be there, and that creates also even more investment and more quality in squads, I think.”
Looking ahead to Bristol City, what have you made of their approach under their new head coach?
“Yes, they have a different style of play. I hear also from the staff and from the boys, because Jovan worked with the coach also in Lincoln, that you see a lot of things back, how they work there.
“They are really defensively a very, very hard-working team. Also the strikers, the way they counter-press, midfielders aggressive, very compact block, very focused on their defensive structure.
“When they have the ball, they are very direct also. So if they win a ball, they go really fast forward, like there's a five-second rule to create a chance.
“We need to be on our toes. First, to break them open, secondly, to not get transitions again.”
You've compared some of their qualities with Derby. Do you see Bristol as a stronger opponent at this moment?
“With all respect to Derby, I value Bristol higher now for the moment, although Derby also have a good selection, but they had problems with a lot of defenders out.
“They showed also last season with a similar selection how far they can go in this league. So I don't see them getting into trouble, also with a manager like John.
“But Bristol is, I think, at a better level than Derby for the moment.”
With the international break following this game, how important would it be to finish this spell with another positive result?
“We first need to do it tomorrow. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a hard fight to win the duels, to be good on the ball with the pressing of Bristol and to create chances against them.
“If I see the quality of the squad of Wolves and how many players come out of the Premier League, and how they struggle to create chances against them, it's going to be a hard shift tomorrow.
“All my focus is on that, not on the international break or things like that. It's fully focused on tomorrow.”