Ben Gibson is hoping the nature of Norwich City’s victory against Stoke last night will prove they are no soft touch in the Championship this season.

The Canaries raced into a 3-0 lead prior to the hour mark but had to contend with numerous adversities before a nail-biting final 10 minutes at the end of the fixture.

Cliches surrounding the hosts indicate that cold, Tuesday nights at the Bet365 Stadium serve as the perfect litmus test for whether a side contains the quality to compete at the top end of the division.

On the evidence of the opening 65 minutes, City can - but for Gibson, it was their defensive performance in the final moments that they can take real heart from.

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“We can take a lot from it. We showed a lot of character,” Gibson said.

“I would imagine that people look at us as a bit of a soft touch. They probably think ‘we can get about them’ and they want to put us off our stride.

“They want to kick us, leave it on our creative boys and to a man we stood up to that challenge tonight.

“You saw the size of the lads they had on at the end, it was Land of the Giants. We’ve conceded two, which we’re disappointed with, but we stood up to it and found a way to win the football match, ultimately that is what matters when you come to a place like this.”

Farke was left facing a injury crisis prior to kick-off and that worsened for City’s boss as he saw Tim Krul limp off in the first-half with a suspected thigh strain that is expected to rule him out of action for a few weeks.

There is also concern surrounding the fitness of Teemu Pukki and Marco Stiepermann, with Emi Buendia suspended against Coventry City on Saturday following his red card last night.

“I was sat with Jordan Hugill at the training ground yesterday and they had the lads faces on the injury board and you can pick an XI out of them. I was thinking ‘what a team’,” Gibson said.

“It’ll be nice to get them back but it’s opportunities for people. What we are blessed with at Norwich is a fantastic academy. There has been a fantastic conveyer belt and long may that continue.

“I thought Josh (Martin) did great tonight and we’re going to need everybody. We need to keep finding ways of winning football matches and hopefully get the other lads back quickly.”