With Norwich sitting proudly at the top of League One, Paul Lambert has admitted that the Canary public can sense a return to the glory days.
Speaking in a lengthy interview this week with Clyde 102.5 in Scotland, Lambert revealed he was loving life in Norfolk, with promotion to the Championship the immediate goal.
Being nine points clear of the play-off places with just 12 games to go, you wouldn’t back against them returning to the second tier at the first time of asking.
And after that, who knows? Could he take City back to the Promised Land?
To give Norfolk another European adventure like the great side of the early to mid-nineties did would be some ask. But the Scot can feel a vibe from the Canary Nation. They want the good times back…
“You can sense that,” he told the Superscoreboard sports show on the Clyde station.
“The club is steeped in that terrific Norwich City side that they had and you’ve got to try and live up to that. And the crowd we have definitely drive you on.
“There’s one team in the city and everything is great when you win but when you don’t it can turn. But it’s that pressure that makes me love doing it.
“If we can keep doing what we’re doing, we’re in the mix. Leeds aren’t far behind us and we’ve got some really tough games coming up.
“If you look at the league table at the moment, it’s relentless. There are a lot of big clubs in there – Leeds, ourselves, Southampton, Huddersfield, Millwall – there are some really good teams.
“But if we keep going the way we’re going then hopefully we will be in there fighting.”
After such an upheaval this season, with that 7-1 opening day defeat preceding the departure of club legend Bryan Gunn, Lambert has worked nothing short of a miracle.
And with a dozen matches to go, City are favourites for the League One title. If they can pull it off, then it will be one of the most notable managerial acts in Norfolk for quite some time.
Lambert certainly recognises what an achievement it would be, even though he refuses to take any of the credit himself.
“It would be terrific, considering what has happened with relegation, the 7-1 defeat to Colchester on the opening day and losing a manager.
“But the city and the fans are the ones that deserve it and they’ll back you through thick and thin. They’ve been brilliant and there is no doubt that the players have been colossal.
“If they’ve got hunger and enthusiasm for the game that’s what you look for but you also need experience and at Norwich at the minute, we’ve got a mixture which has been great.
“To be fair to the lads, they are the ones that go and do it week in, week out and they have been brilliant for me.”
Since his arrival from down the A140 and A12 in August, the former Colchester boss hasn’t hidden his admiration for the Norwich support.
And it’s clear he is loving every minute in the Canary managerial chair. After revealing in the same interview that a return to Celtic didn’t appeal, you feel it would take something pretty special to drag him away from Norfolk.
“I love it, I really do,” he continued. “It’s a terrific football club and the fan base is great.
“That’s a big thing for us and we sell out every week; whether we play Tranmere or Manchester United, we can’t fit any more people in the stadium.
“And when you get 25,000 people coming to watch you week in, week out it’s terrific.
“Norwich as a city has been brilliant and the fan base has been terrific. We’ve found ourselves in League One for one reason or another but we have to do our best to get back.”
Speaking further about the possibility of a stint in the joint hottest seat in Scottish football, Lambert stated quite clearly that England is the place to be.
And if he can take the Canaries to where he wants to go, then all the better.
“England is on a bigger scale – there are more teams and the leagues are stronger. There are lots of things in England that are going for it.
“I had a great time at Wycombe and at Colchester as well. But the Norwich job came up and you find yourself trying to resurrect a club that has huge expectancy levels. So far, we’ve done fine.”
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