Chris Hughton insists the home support have a major role to play on Saturday with Malky Mackay bracing his Cardiff players to expect an intimidating Carrow Road atmosphere.

The Norwich chief does not subscribe to the theory this afternoon is a must-win occasion against the Bluebirds, but Hughton knows the residual uplift from overcoming the newly-promoted Welsh outfit.

'Our home support has been excellent and they were very vocal against Chelsea and got behind the team and we need that type of atmosphere again,' he said. 'We are on the back of a really good performance against Chelsea, where we could not have tried any harder to get a result. I think that was appreciated by the fans and that is the overriding home feeling we have at the moment. It's nice to be back home and we know the onus is on us to get the three points.

'I feel we are in good form. We have been beaten in the last two games by two top teams who will be pushing for league titles and Champions League places. There is certainly no disgrace in those two matches so we need to take that form into the Cardiff game because we're in a position we don't particularly want to be in.'

Mackay retains a special bond with the home support following a six-year stint that culminated in promotion to the Premier League.

'Carrow Road can be a very intimidating place to play,' he said. 'I was there the year we won promotion. It was the year they opened the new stand and there were 24,000 there every week and the atmosphere was incredible a lot of the time. It was the Championship, but the crowds were big and very vocal.'