Clement throws down City gauntlet for the run-in

Philippe Clement will come down hard on any trace of complacency he spots at Norwich City.

The Belgian head coach has transformed the Canaries, who host Preston on Saturday as the Championship's in-form side.

City had to come from behind to keep that run going against Sheffield United, and Clement issued a warning ahead of facing a freefalling Preston, who have won just one in 12.

“I'm sure they will not get carried away, because I will keep an eye on that. And until now I never had to step into that story,” said Clement. “That's also been one of the reasons that we took a lot of points in all the circumstances that we were in.

"This group is humble, they're not carried away, they're hungry, they want to learn, and they've been making amazing steps in a short amount of time. I will push together with the staff to continue that story as hard and as fast as possible.

“I talk with the other managers every three days after games and we have similar talks about that, that every game is a fight. There's nobody going into a game saying, ‘Okay, this one for sure, we're going to win’. Also not for even for the top two or the top three. For the moment you see, for example, Charlton suddenly wins in Middlesbrough.

"So, no, it's every time a really tough fight, and everybody needs to be on their toes every time to get the three points. That's also what's so nice about this league, I think that you don't have much difference between the teams, and there's a lot of competition.

"It's a good thing for fans and for everybody watching the Championship, that there's always suspense.”

Clement wants to turn Norwich’s squad into serial winners to eventually reach the Premier League.

“It's the only way to be successful. We talked before the (Sheffield United) game that we have four games now in 10 days, so we will need every ounce of energy from everybody in the building to be successful,” he said, speaking at Colney on Friday. “Four games, and it's against three teams who are above us in the ranking.

"That is a real challenge and I'm happy that players embrace these challenges now. I challenge them so they want to jump over every bar and that’s the way it should be. As an athlete, you always want more and more and more, and to become better and better and better.

"Those are the top athletes, the ones who reach a satisfaction state of mind and are like, ‘Okay, I'm really good and I'm happy like that’ they will not grow to another level. These players all want to grow to another level, so that needs to be the mindset all the time.”