Alex Neil wants the man he calls 'the rock' to remain an abrasive force in Norwich City's central midfield.

Norwegian international Alex Tettey is available again ahead of the Premier League trip to West Ham after serving a suspension for picking up five yellow cards inside the opening six weeks of the new season.

Neil, however, has no plans to curb Tettey's aggressive instincts.

'We would want the yellow cards to come down, obviously, but Alex's role is a specialised one within the team,' said Neil. 'It is different to anybody else's role and he has been excellent at what he does. He is an absolute rock for us in front of that defence and that has been the case since I have been here.

'I am really pleased with Al in terms of how he has done.

'Obviously I would like him not to pick up as many suspensions but when you play in that area it comes with the territory to a certain extent.

'With Youssouf (Mulumbu) out of the squad injured at the minute as well, he becomes even more important, because they can both do that role.

'That is like anything, if you have two strikers and one is unavailable then the other one has a vital role to play because you haven't got a huge amount of other options but if you look at Gary O'Neil's performance the other night (against West Brom) he showed he is more than capable of stepping in and fulfilling that role.'