City boss Paul Lambert saluted skipper Grant Holt after the Canary striker netted his 26th goal of a remarkable season in yesterday’s 3-0 win over Yeovil.
In truth, Holt hasn’t been at the peak of his powers since coming back from that three-game ban, despite finding the net on his return at Brighton three weeks ago.
But with Lambert hinting that a rest is not always such a good thing, the former Nottingham Forest and Shrewsbury man was back to his best yesterday.
Holt was at the heart of all three goals in the Glovers romp and Norwich manager Lambert was certainly a happy man afterwards.
“He was excellent,” he told reporters in the post-match press conference. “Sometimes when you have too much of a rest, it can be detrimental to you.
“When Grant doesn’t score, people think he’s not at the top of his game. But his goalscoring exploits have been terrific.
“With the three of them [Holt, Wes Hoolahan and Chris Martin] scoring again, it’s been brilliant. When you’ve got a goalscorer in your team, it definitely helps you.”
To be fair, it was an afternoon of standout performances and as well as the City captain, Wes Hoolahan, Korey Smith and Gary Doherty all looked too classy for League One.
Smith, especially, has been quite some find after the Academy product made his debut last season. But he really has come to the fore in this campaign and hasn’t put a foot wrong since Lambert threw the 18-year-old into the starting line-up in his first game in charge against Wycombe.
“Korey was brilliant – absolutely terrific. Hopefully he goes on to have a major career and I thought he was excellent for us.”
With another three points safely tucked away and a healthy seven-point gap to second placed Leeds, attentions will now turn to the rest of March and huge three fixtures.
It’s two away trips on the bounce for the Norfolk club with a visit to play-off chasers Huddersfield coming before a trek to Wiltshire to face fellow top-six hopefuls Swindon.
The month ends with that Carrow Road humdinger against title rivals Leeds but the Canary chief isn’t one to prioritise. ‘Every game is tough’ was the gist of it – even if the City faithful in attendance yesterday may disagree.
“I think you’ve got to give the Yeovils and Tranmeres the same respect that you’d give Huddersfield, Swindon and Leeds.
“Every game is hard in this league. I don’t prioritise as I know from experience that the so-called lesser teams can give you problems.
“I don’t think you can ever relax. You are vying to do something but we’re on top of our game at a vital part of the season which is the pleasing thing. The crowd is as vibrant as ever and we’re doing great.”
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