Andrew Surman feels he is enjoying the best football of his career in the Premier League – and the goals are coming too.

Andrew Surman feels he is enjoying the best football of his career in the Premier League – and the goals are coming too.

The 25-year-old, who made his name at Southampton where he rose through the ranks, has scored four goals in his nine games since returning to Norwich City's starting XI at the end of November.

In fact, in a midfield manager Paul Lambert has regularly tweaked this season Surman has started 13 of City's last 14 Premier League fixtures.

The statistics represent a much more enjoyable top-flight spell than the left-footer's season-long stay at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2008-09 – a �1.2m move earned by Surman's impressive outings at the Saints.

And given Surman's Premier League goal exploits, it is feeling more enjoyable too.

'I think when you are playing in the Premier League, playing against better players, you have got to play better and be a better player,' said Surman. 'And you are playing with better players as well, so I think it brings the best out of me personally.

'So I think I probably am playing the best football of my career. The main thing is getting a run in the team and playing in a team that is full of confidence, and then you can really express yourself.'

Surman notched three goals in 22 appearances for Norwich last season and has proven to have goals in him in the past – including eight in the 2005-06 Championship season for Southampton and a hat-trick against Barnsley in 2007.

Arguably Surman should be sitting on at least five goals this term. The midfielder saw Michel Vorm puck his first half header out of the air at Swansea on Saturday, while seven days earlier he smashed a glorious chance against the underside of Bolton's crossbar in the first half of City's 2-0 home win.

Fortunately the latter was made easier as Surman finally broke the deadlock with 20 minutes to go to see Norwich on their way.

'I was really relieved to get that goal,' he said. 'I was pleased obviously personally because I missed quite a good chance in the first half, so personally it was good to score but the main thing was to win the game really.

'But I'm having a good run with goals at the moment and hopefully it will continue. It's always nice scoring goals and especially when they help the team win, so I am pleased and hopeful I can chip in with a few more.

'I'm probably going through a bit of a purple patch at the moment which I am really pleased about and hopefully it will keep going.

'Probably getting a run in the team helps. If you get that run in the team you build your confidence up and we have had a string of good results as well, which breeds it throughout the squad.

'But I said at the start of the season there is competition for places here and whenever a chance comes when you're going to play, whoever gets that chance, you have got to take it.

'Benno filling in at right-back against Bolton, he had hardly played there in his life but he was fantastic there and still catching the gaffer's eye, even playing out of position.'