'You need to be...' - Norwich City boss' ruthless instructions to players ahead of Portsmouth's visit to Fratton Park
Pompey head to Norwich’s Carrow Road today knowing they could find themselves in the Championship’s bottom three by 5pm.
Philippe Clement admitted the vibe within his Norwich ranks is ‘really good’ ahead of their Good Friday meeting with Pompey.
The Canaries boss said the Carrow Road side’s ascent up the Championship table under this leadership had created much ‘happiness’ within the squad, with the Norfolk outfit transitioning from a relegation-threatened side to one with an outside chance of sealing a play-off place under the Belgian.
However, Clement insisted the feel-good factor suddenly felt around the club does not mean he and his players will become complacent over the final weeks of the season.
Quite the opposite really, Indeed, he insisted each game will be treated as a war against their opponent - starting with Pompey’s visit to Carrow Road today.
Clement: It’s not happy days
When asked about the game against the Blues, Clement, who succeeded the sacked Liam Manning in November, said: ‘They are still in this relegation battle, so I think that's also one of the reasons that the vibe in the building is really good now, because we're out of that and nobody expected before the March international window that the club would be in this situation a few months ago.
‘So that creates also this happiness. But I told them, all of them, because today I had them the first day back... now we need to switch also.
‘It's not happy days and it's party time. Now we have a serious game tomorrow (Friday) and we need to be focused again.
‘Every game is a kind of war against your opponent, so you need to be in that killing zone also. I felt it in a good way in the training, so that's good and that's positive.’
Norwich’s transformation under Clement
Norwich made the decision to part company with former boss Manning on November 8, with their 2-1 home defeat against Leicester their 10th in 15 Championship fixtures.
That left the Canaries second from bottom in the table on nine points, with a 2-1 win at Fratton Park just one of two league victories picked up under the former Bristol City head coach.
Norwich’s fortunes have been transformed, though, under Clement. He’s won 14 of his 24 league games in charge to move the Canaries 15 points clear of the relegation zone they previously occupied for 17 match days.
That contrasts sharply with 21st-placed Pompey’s circumstances over the same period.
Five points above Norwich at the time of Manning’s sacking, they now find themselves 14 points worse off than Clement & Co as their battle against relegation continues.
While Norwich have accummulated 45 points from a possible 72 since mid-November, the Blues have accrued 26 from a possible 69 with just seven wins registered in 23 Championship games.
Today’s game at Norwich is one of eight Pompey have left to retain their Championship status for another year.
For your next Pompey read: Norwich City v Portsmouth: Early team and injury news as 19 out and 6 doubts for Good Friday showdown