After getting his team within two points of an automatic promotion spot following a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest, manager Alex Neil is confident that he can get Norwich City into the Premier League.
Not many would have expected the club to have bounced back strongly after a disappointing season last time around. However, the fact that they still remain in touching distance of an automatic promotion spot is commendable. The Championship this season has been highly intense with just a few points separating teams until the fifth spot. Bournemouth continued to hold the advantage with yet another victory.
Watford and Middlesbrough, though, slipped with defeats in their respective matches during the weekend and it has helped Norwich close the gap on the second spot. There has been no attempt to reduce the expectation at the club, as Neil has confirmed that Norwich are targeting promotion this season. If it comes through the automatic way, it would be even more beneficial. This is because it would allow the clubs several weeks of valuable preparation time in the transfer market, which the clubs that are promoted by the play-offs simply do not get. The win against Nottingham, though, was only the second in the last five matches.
“I know what my task is. We want to be in the Premier League, and I said to the board when I first came down I want to be in the Premier League as well so I will try my very best. Everybody is fighting for the same goal and I can assure you my determination only grows, it doesn’t diminish.There is an expectancy level that I have for myself and my group and from the fans towards me and the group. The board will have their own expectations that I have to deliver a certain quality of football and a certain competitiveness in this league,” said Neil.