Derby County star Marc Edworthy reflected on the incident against his former side where for a split second his best friend in football became his biggest foe.

Derby County star Marc Edworthy reflected on the incident against his former side where for a split second his best friend in football became his biggest foe.

The 34-year-old full-back was given a man-to-man marking job on Darren Huckerby in Tuesday's Championship clash at Carrow Road and re-lived the moment when he thought the City winger had made the most of a challenge from Darren Moore to win a penalty for the Canaries.

The referee waved away the claims but Edworthy and Moore took umbrage to Huckerby's alleged theatrics.

“The situation is one where he is one of the most dangerous players in the division and he has been in such great form recently.

“I was basically asked to do a man-to-man marking job on him and all of us are out to do everything we can to win the game. The lads thought he may have taken a tumble but what goes on, on the pitch stays on the pitch.

“We had a good laugh and a joke about it afterwards. He is one of my best friends in football.”

Edworthy was substituted at half time to protect him from being sent off after he picked up a booking for a robust challenge on City man-of-the-moment Chris Martin. The defender was taunted by City fans after this incident but Edworthy insists he has no regrets over the clash.

“The ball was there to be won and if it's there then I'm going to go for it. It seems these days that if you take a bit of the player with the ball then you are going to get pulled up for it.

“That was actually my ninth booking of the season and if you get ten then you are suspended for two matches. There is no way I want to miss any games at this stage of the season.”

Edworthy, who left City in 2005 after the club decided against offering a one-year extension to his contract, believes it is only a matter of time before Peter Grant's men are challenging for promotion at the top of the Championship.

“It's very difficult for teams that come down from the Premier League. You only have to look at teams like Crystal Palace and Southampton to see the scale of the task of getting back in the Premiership.

“They are a very dangerous side with the likes of Huckerby, (Lee) Croft and this new lad (Chris) Martin and they showed last night what a talented side they are.

“Norwich had to go through the upheaval of changing their manager and the current boss is looking to build his own team and he will even perhaps be building for next year now.

“It's a fantastic club and I hope they can get back up there.”

Meanwhile, Edworthy could be back in the Premiership as soon as next season after their win at Carrow Road put them two points clear at the top of the Championship table.

“I have got another year on my contract and the old legs are hanging on at the moment. All we are looking at is the next game against Birmingham. We've got a special manager here who demands results and hard work and the lads have really responded to that.”