Cardiff boss Dave Jones gave credit where credit was due on Saturday, having seen his side go to the top of the Championship with the 100th league victory of his reign in south Wales.

'It was a hard game for us today and I thought that they played really well against us and made us work hard for the three points,' he said.

'They came with a diamond shape which caused us problems at times, making it hard for us to nullify what they do. They got themselves back into it and deservedly so in my view, but we killed their momentum by going straight up the other end and getting the penalty, which Whitts (Peter Whittingham) took well for us again.

'Today hasn't just been about going forward. At times my players had to put their bodies on the line and block Norwich City's chances.

'In fairness, both defences did well and it was a good top of the table clash. In the end we took the sting out of them and we took the ball from them and knocked it around well. Norwich defended well, though, and also pulled off some good blocks, and although they will be disappointed with the result, but not so much with the performance from his team.

'But overall it was a good game and certainly a good game for the spectators. We know we can score goals, but on occasions we took our foot off the gas and allowed them to take the initiative from us. It's something that we'll learn from – there was some sloppy play at times and loose passing. But they are all things that we can work on next week.'

Jones branded Jay Bothroyd 'silly' for picking up a booking that sees him miss next weekend's south Wales derby against Swansea.

Bothroyd saw yellow after a late challenge on left-back Steve Smith in the 63rd minute.

'As for Jay, he'll obviously miss the one game now – and I'm not too bothered as it was always going to come at some point,' he said. 'Players can also miss games through injury, so you can't legislate for everything that can happen. 'True it was a silly booking to pick up, but we'll have to deal with that. I understand that the boy (Darren) Pratley at Swansea also picked up a fifth booking so he'll also miss next week's game, meaning two key players will have to sit on the sidelines for what is a big game in the local calendar.

'We have a good bench and I am fairly confident that with our strong squad the team will not be affected.

'We have just come through some tough games and we are looking strong and fit but I may change the way we play next week against Swansea as we will not have Jay up front.

'Craig Bellamy was feeling a little tired so we brought him off and Jason Koumas was not a bad replacement for him. I am always looking to strengthen the squad and January will be no different. If we can do it we will, but it is not a bad squad here at the moment.'