Harris pre-Norwich | Consistency is key
NORWICH PREVIEW | HARRIS
Neil Harris explained that his squad will relish the challenge of Saturday's trip to Sky Bet Championship leaders Norwich City.
The Canaries hold a three point lead at the top of the table but, as the manager pointed out, the Bluebirds have battled to impressive wins in both of their last two away matches.
“We’ll go to Norwich full of confidence.” Neil began. “They are a top side with top players in their squad, as well as the manager. You can see that from their points tally.
“The next two fixtures are tough. It’s going to be a tough seven days for us, going to Norwich and then playing Brentford at home. They are two sides that I fully expect to be right up there in the top six.
"I said before that whoever comes above Watford will have a top three finish, but we’ve gone to Watford and Stoke, two teams then in the top five, and won at both places.”
City returned to winning ways against Birmingham on Wednesday and the boss urged his players to carry their strong form into the festive fixtures.
“Consistency is key, putting runs together at key moments," he continued. "We’ve got more points this year than we had at this stage last year. Some teams have started really well, but things change quickly in the Championship. We came from behind on Wednesday to win, and came from behind against Stoke as well.
“We have 15 points from 18 in the Championship. We’re showing that we can compete with the top sides, and we have to show that again in the next seven days. Hopefully we have one or two players back from injury or suspension.”
Neil also provided an injury update ahead of our visit to Carrow Road, having named three Academy players in the midweek matchday squad.
“Josh Murphy was under the weather in midweek but could possibly feature against Norwich," added the City boss. "Joe Ralls will also hopefully come back in after his suspension. If we can add to the group with any of the lads who were missing against Birmingham, that will be a real bonus, but if not then we’ll go with the same 20 players as Wednesday.
“Strength in depth is the key in the Championship. I was lucky to have been able to name the same side for five games in a row, and then really unlucky with the players we had injured on Wednesday. We were missing six players who affect the top four attacking positions on the pitch.
“It was a great experience for the young lads to be involved on the bench, and we want to promote our Academy. It takes time, but it’s another small step, and when the players are ready, they’ll play.”
