City midfielder Simon Lappin has admitted he's living the Canary dream under new boss Paul Lambert, his one-time Celtic idol.
Lappin has started every game under the Scot so far and was made captain for last night's Johnstone's Paint Trophy 1-0 win over Brentford.
And after being cast aside under Glenn Roeder and a bench warmer for Bryan Gunn's Canaries, he is just happy to be playing again. It's clear Lambert is a fan…
“It's been a long time coming for myself, to get back into the team.” said Lappin last night. “But I'm just enjoying it at the moment � loving every minute.
“I'm playing in the games and that's what you want to do as a footballer. There's nothing worse than training all week then come the Saturday and you're not playing.
“But I'm just going to keep working hard, keep my head down and get on with it.”
After getting round one out of the way, supporters' thoughts will slowly but surely be turning towards a possible Wembley appearance, with the Bees dispatched comfortably yesterday evening.
It's not very often City are amongst the favourites to win a cup competition and Lappin has urged the Canary nation to embrace it. Silverware is silverware.
“It's the same with any competition � if you're in it, you're in it to win it.
“In my time at St Mirren, I won the Scottish equivalent of this tournament and it's a fantastic feeling. And I'm sure that Chrissy Martin and Micky Spillane would tell you that as well.
“There's people who play any number of years and never win a thing. So we've got to look to try and win it. We've got a fantastic opportunity, but we'll take it one game at a time.”
Always the model pro, Lappin has had to be very patient to earn his big chance at Carrow Road and he revealed last night that his new boss � the fourth during his time in Norfolk � is something of an idol from his days in Scotland.
Raised as a Celtic supporter, Lappin watched on from the stands when Lambert was strutting his stuff during the golden Martin O'Neill era.
And now he has joined him at Carrow Road, he's determined that some of Lambert's winning mentality rubs off on the 26-year-old.
“I grew up as a Celtic fan and watched the side that the manager's played in � I managed to get to some of the European games.
“And he never gave the ball away; never gave the ball away. And he was fantastic as a player. A few of my mates have asked me to get his autograph, but I'm not going to go and ask the manager for his autograph.
“But he's the same as a manager � he's a winner. And that's rubbing off on the boys as well.”
To go from outcast to captain in a few months is certainly a remarkable turnaround for the Glasgow-born player.
And while Grant Holt looks to have the gig on a full-time basis, Lappin admitted he was honoured to have the armband.
You get a genuine feeling that the midfielder finally feels like he's arrived. It's certainly showing on the pitch.
“If someone had said to me six months ago that I'd be leading Norwich out, I'd have probably just laughed at them.
“But it was a fantastic honour � and a very proud moment as it always is to lead a team out. But the main thing was just getting through tonight � and we managed to do that.
And while Lappin is on the up, so too are City. Last night's win was Lambert's third out of four since his switch from Colchester.
His arrival has certainly had the desired effect. Now they've just got to keep it up.
“We managed to put the Sunderland result behind us with a great result at Hartlepool. It's a tough place to go and I think teams will find it difficult to go there this year.
“But we can't afford to be complacent; we need to keep working hard at it at the training ground; day in, day out.”
Tom Haylett
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