It was one of his better performances in a Canary shirt and in the vital victory at Glanford Park, along with Jason Shackell, Gary Doherty was the bedrock of yesterday's 1-0 success.
With the Iron's direct style of play, it was never going to be a walk in the park in North Lincolnshire.
You get the feeling they would have happily lumped the ball into the City box all day long and the concentration levels shown by the Canary backline were as key as Jamie Cureton's 78th minute winner.
It is games like Scunthorpe (a) that can make or break a season and yesterday, Glenn Roeder's side passed their test with flying colours.
Not too many teams will come to Scunthorpe and come home with all three points and even if the Iron do drop back into League One, it won't be for the lack of trying.
But Doherty and Co were on the top of their game to make sure it was a happy trip back down the A17. 1-0 – job done.
“It was always going to be difficult coming here,” said man-of-match Doherty.
“We are both down at the bottom, they were the home side so for us, it was just a case of digging in.
“I think you enjoy these kinds of games as a player. Our game plan was to defend well and hit them on the attack and it is key we pick up points against the teams down around us, and we did that today.”
The Glenn Roeder-inspired turnaround has been a huge boost to the Canary faithful and four points from their last two road trips is a sign of just how far City of come since the dark days of Plymouth (a).
“The last two games have maybe not been fantastic performances but to get four points out of six is something that will give us confidence going into two tough home games.
“We've accumulated a lot of points since the gaffer has come in so that has obviously given everyone the confidence.
“The mentality is completely different now and we're gong into games expecting to win. It's a great feeling and to be fair, the wins are coming.”
With five wins in seven games, it is certainly a case of onwards and upwards for the Canaries as we approach a hectic Christmas schedule but can the Norfolk club now count themselves out of danger? Not according to Doherty; there's still a long, long way to go?
“No, I don't think we're out of danger for good,” added the former Republic of Ireland international.
“But the one thing that has changed is that we're now looking up the league. We know we're still in a battle but we're looking upwards and seeing who we can overtake now.
“Now we've got two difficult home games against teams who are good on the road and it will be a good test for us.”
The major difference seems to be the new-found resilience and belief in the camp. This City side now go into games expecting to win, not hoping to scrape a point.
There is a ruthlessness and a hunger about them now and after watching so many capitulations on the road over the years, it is a breath of fresh air.
“You hear everyone saying nicey-nicey Norwich so to come here and win, go to Blackpool and win and get a point at Colchester shows that we are different to that and that we're a good aggression side and that is something we can be proud of.
“Coming to places like this will hopefully prove to people that we can grind out results when we need to.
“Other teams might look at us now and think we've got our act together and that is obviously pleasing. We're showing a bit more resilience and that is something that needs to continue.
“We're coming into January and hopefully the gaffer will have a few quid to spend and we can strength the squad, bring in better players and get some more points.”
As for Doherty's own form, he doesn't know what all the fuss is about. As far as he is concerned, he has been in good shape all season ? despite missing a chunk of the campaign with a groin injury.
His recent performances have put the disappointment of losing out on Martin Taylor to the back of Canary minds. All Doherty wants now is for more of the same?
“I was quite pleased the way I started the season to be fair. We had a good defensive record but then I got the injury and it is so difficult being injured when a new manager comes in.
“You're desperate to be out there impressing him but now I'm back playing and I feel I'm in good form so hopefully I can take that into the Christmas period.”
Tom Haylett
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