City man-of-the-match Fraser Forster admitted that he’s happy to stick around for the rest of the season despite reported interest from the Premier League.
The goalkeeper, on loan from Newcastle, is on a deal until the end of the season but the Hexham-born ‘stopper hinted that his stay in Norfolk could still be cut short.
But after his star showing against Brentford on Saturday, in which he made several outstanding stops to deny the Bees, Forster seems happy to keep lapping up the praise of the Carrow Road faithful.
The level headed goalkeeper is convinced that Norwich is the right place for him to continue his footballing education – for now.
“Whatever happens, happens. But I’m not going to get carried away,” he told reporters after the gutsy 1-0 win over the west Londoners.
“Obviously it’s nice to be linked with clubs and whatever but I’ll probably be here for the whole season which is exactly what I need, playing games in front of big crowds
“It would be disappointing to leave after becoming part of such a winning team. It would be nice to stay and, hopefully, win the league. But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Whatever the future holds for the likeable 21-year-old, he was certainly ecstatic at playing a major part in a huge, huge win for the Canaries – one which sent them to the League One summit.
And after Grant Holt’s sending off in the 41st minute for a nasty challenge on Toumani Diagouraga, Forster believes the three-point haul was an even bigger achievement. The pressure is firmly on previous top dogs Leeds.
“That win was massively sweet. It was a great three points under the circumstances, going down to 10 men pretty early.
“It has taken us to the top of the table and it’s nice to put the pressure back on Leeds United.
“It’s very important to the fans given what happened last season. It’s nice for them to see the team winning and it’s an added bonus to go top. But obviously it’s a long season and there are still plenty of games to go.”
He was in a typically modest mood afterwards and despite making a string of outstanding second-half saves to keep the Bees at bay, Forster said he’d played better.
This is one goalkeeper who is striving for perfection and it’s refreshing to see a mature head on such young shoulders.
“Obviously it was nice to make the saves but I’ve probably played better in other games. I’m happy to make the saves but there is always room for improvement.
“I’m absolutely delighted though. It’s nice to keep the clean sheets and it keeps the record going. I’ve obviously got my own private goals for the season and it would be nice to meet them; we’ll wait and see.”
The crucial success – City’s record-equalling tenth in a row at Carrow Road – was partly down to Lambert’s bold half-time move to go with a 3-4-2 formation.
If the Canaries were going to go down, they would do so fighting. But as it turned out, along with the backing of a particularly vociferous crowd, it spurred them on to a famous success.
“The gaffer changed the whole system and the lads have done well to adjust. It was obviously a very important goal and I was delighted to see it go in. It took the pressure off.
“When you see the quality of defenders you don’t really worry. Gary Doherty and Michael Nelson have been brilliant and it was good for Zak [Whitbread] to get on.
“He did well as well but the whole team were great and if it wasn’t for everyone’s hard work, we wouldn’t have got the three points.”
But Forster, despite his modesty, deserves all the praise coming his way. And City boss Lambert believes that the Newcastle man will turn out to be “world class”.
“I think he will be a world class goalkeeper. Some of the saves that lad makes are extraordinary and you get to the point where you think, ‘I don’t think he’s going to get beat’. He will one day, but you have that feeling he is unbeatable at the minute.
“I don’t know if he is eligible for the England Under-21s but I would certainly have a look at him. I would recommend him, that’s for sure.”
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