Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Rudolph Hucker

We've still got a lot to do.

Recommended Posts

It could hardly have gone better today as teams around and above us felt the pressure and dropped points. Even Watford coming back at Leeds (where we have to go) gives confidence to us to go there and get the result.

It shows just how much ground we had to make up, and still need to make up, to establish ourselves because the others have shown they can take a bad result or two and still be there whereas a loss for us would put us quickly outside the top six and multiple points behind again.

This is the third of my three to win to be in automatic contention. We need this one because it is against promotion opposition and, say what you like, Ipswich have one point more than us at this stage and are serious opposition however much we like to deride them.

It is hard to win, win and win again and five on the spin says a great deal about Alex Neil''s approach; no more so than against Blackburn.

So the fact it is a local Derby can help in this process because it is a stand out fixture in it''s own right and Alex Neil has harnessed the occasion to motivate his team. I love the way he has envied his own players getting to play in the game and his comments about having to be up for a frenetic start but not getting drawn into playing the way the opposition want you to is genius insight.

McCarthy seems to be taking a quiet approach and maybe trying to calm his players. This is where the Norwich support has a role to play.

The top teams don''t just get the most points; in the final analysis they lose the fewest games, score the most goals, concede fewest etc. etc. In this respect you can see why we have had such a long haul. Our stats are getting there though; but there is absolutely no room for complacency.

We need to win tomorrow because we still have ground to make up; we are not there yet; we cannot afford to relax.

Ipswich will look at the table and see what a draw would do for them. They have every incentive and want it just as much as us. Our biggest risk is ourselves though. If we drop our standards at all we will not win this game.

But, if we approach the game focussed; if the crowd support and be patient; if the players work hard, do their jobs and play to our system we can win this game and go third.

Yep, after all that we will still be third with the rest tight behind us, there is a lot to do. But, of course we will be hard on the top two and with a goal difference close to equilibrium.

So, let''s use the occasion to freshen up the approach to the game but let''s stay driven by the overall objective and do ourselves justice. You don''t feel the benefit of away wins until you follow them up with a win at home.

As Alex Neil said: it is about ''the win'' in games like this so expect a hard and tight game. OTBC!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Yes, but a lot less than this time last week.and even less than this time the week before that.The direction of travel is what gives us hope.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Re the crowd, I think we seem a lot more patient as the confidence in the new manager grows.
He has proven, more than a few times already, that not only can he pick a team to do a particular job, but that he is willing and capable of making effective changes.
I think the crowd will perform well tomorrow.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
We will have the odd setback even if we go on to win the league. So the fans have to stay loyal and strong. Hopefully that setback won''t be tomorrow. I''m quietly confident about the game though :)

Having said that I think the players have a bit of a siege mentality this season because they haven''t been dragged down by negativity from the stands and have stood firm together. If they have done that on their own they can win the league with all the fans onside too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...