As long as Carrow Road is noisy, Dean Smith is happy, whether that be with or without a drum.

A debate has emerged among Canaries fans since a drum provided the beat of a superb atmosphere in the away end during the win at Watford prior to the winter break.

A group of supporters are campaigning for the drum to be allowed in for Wednesday night's home Premier League clash with Crystal Palace but there are also plenty that oppose the idea, pointing to an annoyance for those sitting close by.

“Whatever gets an atmosphere,” Smith said with a laugh when asked about the debate. “For some fans, that will be what gets them up, for others, they won’t want to be too close to someone that’s banging a drum all game.

“But for me, the fans have generated a really good atmosphere. When we’ve looked energetic and been right at it, the fans have got behind us.

"First and foremost, we have to get the fans off their seats and when they do that, the atmosphere at Carrow Road is something to behold.”

With the Canaries looking to continue the early stages of a survival surge with a third successive top-flight triumph, they also know victory tonight would ensure the Eagles have to look nervously over their shoulder.

Patrick Vieira’s team eased to a 3-0 win over a City side missing 10 players due to injury and illness in late December and Smith expects a very different encounter.

“It was a game that was hit by Covid for both teams and injuries, certainly for ourselves,” he continued. “Patrick wasn’t even on the sidelines that day for Palace (due to Covid-19), so it will be nice to actually acquaint myself with him.

“But an awful lot has changed, certainly from our point of view and we’re looking forward to playing them with renewed confidence.”

Palace were without some key players for the Selhurst Park encounter as well but Wilf Zaha, Conor Gallagher, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise are all set to be involved this time, although midfielder Cheikou Kouyate isn’t expected to return yet after winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal on Sunday.

“They’ve got some players coming back from the Afcon tournament as well,” Smith added. “So it strengthens their team and we know how good they are and can be.

“As ever, we’ll respect the opposition but we won’t fear them. We’ll be going all out to get the win for our fans.”

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