EXPECT IMPROVEMENTS

Norwich city manager Chris Hughton has said that his side should improve a lot if they are to retain their Premier league status at the end of the season. Norwich recently appointed Chris Hughton as the replacement for Paul Lambert, who left for Aston Villa.

Chris Hughton was given a rude awakening to his first managerial job in the Premier league after some time. Norwich city managed to crumble in their own way and lose 5-0 in the first match against Fulham. Following the match, Chris Hughton has said that the defence of the side coupled with various areas should be improved as soon as possible if they are to not slip behind the relegation rivals.

Even though Norwich did extremely well last season under the guidance of Paul Lambert, they are not expected to be anywhere close to the top-10 finish. As a result, many are expecting Norwich to be struggling down near the bottom of the table due to the presence of the second season syndrome. Chris Hughton has said that a strong start is vital if they are to not struggle for the rest of the campaign, but they could not prevent a horrible performance against Fulham on the opening day of the season.

“We held our own in the first 25 minutes but the first two goals were poor to concede. You can’t put in a performance like we did against a team like Fulham and come away with anything other than defeat. The two goals hurt us in that first-half period. That changes things. Defensively we were not good enough and we need to get back to basics and look to make amends next week against QPR,” said Chris Hughton after the match. Norwich will be facing another relegation rival in the form of QPR, who also lost by the same margin.

BASSONG HAPPY AT NORWICH

The latest signing in the summer for Norwich city – Sebastien Bassong – has said that he is extremely happy to play for his new club. Norwich managed to secure the signature of the 26-year-old Tottenham defender for an undisclosed fee.

The French defender has said that the presence of the former Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton made it easy for him to be convinced that that Norwich city is his destination. The 26-year-old is one of the highly rated defenders in the country and played under Chris Hughton at Newcastle United before his transfer to Tottenham.

Sebastien Bassong will first be handed the task of plugging the leaky defence that conceded five goals in the opening match of the season against Fulham. It was one of the worst starts made by a Premier league club on the opening game of the season. Chris Hughton praised the signing of the player by saying that he will surely make a difference in the Norwich team. It is reported that the club has agreed a £ 5 million fee with Tottenham for his signature. The French defender moved to Newcastle United for £ 500,000. He was eventually sold to Tottenham for £ 8 million a few seasons ago.

“I am really delighted to join the club. It’s a really good thing for me and I am really happy and looking forward to playing for the team. It made a big difference for me, to my choice, because I know that Chris was the first man to give me a training session in England when I came from France so he knows me really well and I am really happy to work with him again. Last year Norwich City impressed me a lot when I came to play here, the way they did well in the league and by the fact they kept all those players,” said Sebastien Bassong.

LAMBERT WILL STAY

Norwich city manager Paul Lambert has said that he does not plan to leave the club in the summer, despite transfer speculation linking him with a move to Aston Villa. Paul Lambert has emerged as the front-runner for the vacant Aston Villa managerial job.

The Midlands club recently sacked manager Alex McLeish after one of the worst seasons in their Premier league history. It is expected that there will be looking at a younger and exciting manager to replace the Scot, who almost relegated them to the Championship. Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was the favourite to take over at Aston Villa last season, but he turned down the opportunity.

This time around, they have been linked with a few names like Paul Lambert and Alan Curbishley. Paul Lambert has done an excellent job with Norwich city this season. He has been able to get them into the Premier league and also has been able to keep them in the division. Despite spending very little money, he has been able to achieve a lot with Norwich. However, it is thought that he would be willing to take a new challenge at a much bigger club than Norwich. For the moment, though, he has rejected speculation linking him with Aston Villa.

“You must be winding me up. Listen to what I’m telling you. You are asking me some negative things. It’s nothing to do with me, this is about Adam Drury. I am delighted I am at Norwich if that is what you are asking me. I have never said I wanted away, not a thing have I said, and people are jumping to conclusions. I am trying to prepare Norwich for next season the best I can. We have got players in mind that we would like to bring to the football club,” said Paul Lambert.

LAMBERT WANTS TO BUILD

Norwich city manager Paul Lambert has said that he is not looking to leave the club at the end of the season. There have been reports linking the Norwich city manager with a move to either Tottenham or Aston Villa in the summer.

Both teams will be looking for a new manager after the season has been disappointing.

Harry Redknapp has failed to get his team to the top three position comfortably, while Alex McLeish has been disastrous in every way. Even though Aston Villa is more likely to be a destination for Paul Lambert in the summer, the Norwich city manager has said that the reports linking him with a move away from the club are untrue.

Paul Lambert has done an extremely impressive job with Norwich city ever since taking over at the helm of the club in 2009. He has been able to get them back-to-back promotions. As a result, the club are now in the Premier league, which is a faraway position when they were in the League one when they were taken over by Paul Lambert. It is thought that the Scotsman would be interested in a new challenge at a much bigger club having spent three years at the Carrow Road.

“I have had three unbelievable years at Norwich, really successful years, but we will always keep progressing, we have to. We will try everything we can to build it again for next season and keep pushing it on. I don’t look too far ahead, I have learnt that pretty quickly,” said Paul Lambert in response to this week’s speculation linking him with a number of jobs. Norwich finished the season comfortably without any relegation trouble, while the same cannot be said of Aston Villa. Despite having a much higher budget, Aston Villa have struggled with relegation trouble under Alex McLeish.

LAMBERT NOT SURPRISED AT PROGRESS

Many have been surprised by the progress Norwich City and Swansea have made in the Premier league this season.

Despite being newcomers to the Premier league and being given no chance by the critics, they have defied all expectations by continuing to remain within relegation troubles. Norwich manager Paul Lambert, however, is unsurprised by the fact that his team has not been troubled by relegation throughout the season. Norwich came into the Premier league through automatic promotion after finishing second last season in the Championship.

As a result, Paul Lambert has said that he was able to build his team prior to the team from the play-off starting their rebuilding process for the Premier league. QPR also managed to get into the Premier league on automatic promotion, but they have struggled with relegation all season long.

In fact, they are currently in the relegation zone right now based on goal difference. Lambert has said that he will not be resting any players in the Premier league because they are not safe yet mathematically. However, they are just one point away from approaching the magic 40 point mark, which is thought to be the points tally that will definitely achieve safety in the Premier league season.

“We’re not safe yet, mathematically anyway, but we have given ourselves a right good chance to stay in the league. Is it a surprise? No, because I always had a great belief in the team that they could win more games than not and I think we’ve done fantastically well. I think there’s inner belief in ourselves, which is great. I think they’ve got a big belief that they can go and win games,” Lambert said ahead of the encounter with Everton during this weekend. Norwich can go to the eighth position if other results are favourable.

PULIS PRAISES LAMBERT

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has heaped the praise on Norwich City manager Paul Lambert by saying that his counterpart has done an extremely brilliant job at the Canaries.

Paul Lambert has taken Norwich City from down in the bottom echelons of the English football division to the Premier league in a matter of three seasons.

Paul Lambert took over Norwich City when the club were extremely close to going down into the conference. However, since then Norwich City have achieved three promotions in a row to get into the Premier league. It is not like they have been struggling with time in the Premier league because Paul Lambert has been able to work out a strategy in order to survive in the top division of English football.

Norwich City are currently in the eighth position in the table, which is even more fantastic when you consider that the likes of Swansea and QPR, who were promoted along with them, are struggling down near the bottom of the table. Further, Paul Lambert has worked on a small budget and has been able to bring in players for extremely low sums of money. Still, they have achieved excellent results against the top teams as well.

“I’ve watched Norwich twice over the last few weeks and they are a good side. They have players who are relishing playing in the Premier League. They are playing with no inhibitions and they have a right go. They have players who can hurt you. The club can be really proud – not just Paul and the coaching staff, but the players and also their supporters, who have been wonderful,” Stoke City manager Tony Pulis said ahead of the match regarding Norwich City and Paul Lambert. Norwich still have the ability to qualify for the European places.

CITY THROUGH IN FA CUP

Norwich City have made it into the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating fellow Premier league team West Bromwich Albion.

Norwich City have been extremely good in the Premier league so far. Even though they have not played the most beautiful football in the division, they have been doing extremely well in terms of getting the points to keep them well away from the relegation zone.

Only Swansea have been doing much better them amongst the promoted trio. The entry into the fifth round of the FA Cup is the first time since 2007 for Norwich City. Back then, Norwich City failed to beat Chelsea at Stamford bridge, and they will be hoping for an easy fixture this time around.

Grant Holt has been one of the most influential players for Norwich City this season and it was not surprising to see him open the scoring in the match against West Bromwich Albion. Holt scored in the 35th minute to give Norwich City the lead they deserved. However, West Brom woke up following the goal and continued to threaten the Norwich goal.

Finally, the equaliser came in the second half when Fortune scored in the 54th minute to level things in the match. Just when it seemed that West Brom and Norwich were expecting a replay, Jackson scored in the 85th minute to ensure that Norwich make it into the fifth round.

“I thought Jed Steer’s saves were world class. He was terrific. It is only one game but he has a great temperament and a great enthusiasm for the game as well which is important. He is a really level-headed lad, which is probably more important than anything – but his handling was brilliant,” Norwich City manager Paul Lambert said after the match.