He's the man

CHRIS LAKEY

Peter Grant believes Darren Huckerby is the man to fire another hole in West Bromwich Albion's promotion hopes this afternoon as City chase another notable Championship double.

The Canaries boss was at The Hawthorns on Saturday to see Tony Mowbray's team suffer a surprise 3-1 home defeat to Stoke City.

And he will be hoping to pile on the pressure this afternoon in front of a packed house at Carrow Road - five months after a smash and grab raid saw City take all three points in the West Midlands.

The man who holds the key to City's success is undoubtedly the enigmatic Huckerby, who scored his eighth league goal of the season at Hull on Friday, set up Dickson Etuhu for the second, missed a sitter and even had time to see two other efforts disallowed. It was a performance which summed up the City star.

"Match winner," was Grant's assessment of his value to his squad.

"What sums him up is that he is through on the goalkeeper and puts it by the post and then the next minute he is turning defenders inside out and producing moments of magic - that is Darren.

"That brilliance he has got at certain moments - nobody can match that in the division. The way we play, if we are organised and we break quickly, he is always a threat to the opposition, they are always worried about him, and that is a fantastic thing to have as a player.

"He is very, very difficult to cope with. I think there are a hell of a lot of good players in this division, but Darren is up there with the best of them. You will go far to find someone who can excite you, frustrate you all in one moment, but he has been fantastic for us.

"I questioned it after the Wolves game a few weeks ago when he was magic, but the final thing he did was poor - he has answered me very, very well."