CHRIS LAKEY Canaries boss Glenn Roeder is close to giving Ched Evans his first start in a Canaries shirt after spending Sunday morning admiring the teenager's skills.

CHRIS LAKEY

Canaries boss Glenn Roeder is close to giving Ched Evans his first start in a Canaries shirt after spending Sunday morning admiring the teenager's skills.

“I watched him in training yesterday and he was fantastic, really fantastic,” said Roeder on the eve of tonight's game against Plymouth Argyle at Carrow Road.

“His finishing was superb and I am as confident as you can be that if he is on the field and chances come his way he will take them.

“You are not going to score every one, of course, but he will take a high percentage of chances - if we can make him chances.

“But he came out and trained yesterday morning and I think the taster of 35 minutes on Saturday has made him excited about perhaps getting a start, which he will do.

“While he is with us he will start games - whether it's on Tuesday night we will have to wait and see, but his first start is certainly coming closer.”

Evans, 18, is a month-long loan deal from Manchester City, who are keen for him to get Championship experience under his belt.

And while that amounts to just under an hour in two appearances so far, Evans is getting used to life at Carrow Road.

“He is getting to know the lads now, he is starting to feel comfortable around the training ground,” said Roeder. “It is quite an ask for an 18-year-old to come into a senior dressing room and feel part of the squad straight away and from the first day when he arrived when he was quiet and obviously assessing what is going on around him you can see how the boys have taken to him. He is very much part of the squad now, so I would be happy any time now to give him a start.”

Roeder has a slight worry over Dion Dublin, but not enough to get Evans' hopes up too high.

“Dion was a little bit stiff yesterday,” said Roeder. “He got a kick on his Achilles tendon, but that's no great concern. We don't think it will be a problem.”

The decision on Dublin may well dictate where Evans is at 7.45pm tonight, but the Wales Under-21 international says it would be the perfect venue to score his first senior start and first senior goal.

“That would be great - I am just waiting really,” he said. “I hope he will give me a chance to show what I can do.

“This is a big opportunity for me, it's a challenge, I just need to show people what I can do at first team level. I have shown them what I can do at reserve team level now I need to show them at first team level.

“It would be great to score in front of our home fans because I have never seen anything like it, such good fans. It's astonishing how many turn out every week. It would be a dream really - that would be the most people I have ever scored in front of so it would be exciting.”

Evans has been at City for less than a fortnight, but confirmed Roeder's belief that the transition from the heady heights of the Premier League to the bottom of the Championship has been a smooth one.

“I have settled in really well,” he said. “I'm mates with all the boys. It's a really easy place to settle in so I am really enjoying it here at the moment.

“It is not like it is a bad squad, it is just that the confidence is down about the place. But we have won two games since I've been here and lost last week, but I think we are on the up and will be off the bottom by the New Year, hopefully.”

t Tonight's match is sold out for home fans - for the third time this season. The house full signs were also up for the matches against Crystal Palace and Ipswich.