Chris Hughton is convinced he will get the time to drag Norwich City out of Premier League danger.

The Canaries' chief knows a win against West Ham at Carrow Road this weekend is vital to lift spirits after a crushing 7-0 defeat at Manchester City kept Norwich firmly in the bottom three. Hughton was in bullish mood yesterday as he batted away questions on his own long term future at the club.

'I'm convinced I will get the time to turn it around. My only goal is the next game,' he said. 'We are possibly one or two results from being in a half decent position in the league. It is not as if we are bottom and cut adrift. That doesn't make the feeling any better and we don't want to be in the bottom three, but we have everybody pushing in the right direction.

'I speak to the chief executive and the board on a regular basis and there isn't anyone at this football club who doesn't want us to make progress. Everybody is hurting right now. Not just me and the players but the board and the fans. We all want the same things. We're united here as a football club. For me the focus is on winning a game on Saturday in front of our home support and giving them something to cheer about. I really feel we are not far away and that there is so much to look forward too this season.'

Hughton realises West Ham's Premier League visit will be a test of nerve for the Carrow Road support. The Norwich City boss has not been immune to criticism from the terraces in recent home games and following the drubbing at Manchester City Hughton knows patience may be in short supply against the Hammers.

'We have a fanatical support and we will be doing our hardest to give them something to get behind,' he said. 'We had an incredible support that travelled up to Manchester and we all know this is an emotional game. Yes, possibly there will be times during the game when it might be difficult to break down a side like West Ham, who have been defensively very good, and that is when we might need a little bit of patience. That applies to the team as much as the supporters. We can't be throwing players forward at will, we have to get things right tactically so that might mean there are periods or lulls in the game which might lead to some frustrations. All I can say is I know our support have been right behind us this season and that will not change this weekend. We will need them again.'

Hughton has now drawn a line under the Manchester City post-mortems after a heavy defeat at the Etihad.

'There is no need to set the alarm bells ringing,' he said. 'If we win on Saturday we go above West Ham and it changes the perceptions a little bit. What we can't do is look at the negatives. For me, they are in the past. With the ability we have got we are capable doing better and if I look at the situation we were in last season at this time we managed to go on a run. I have faith and a belief we have the ability to do that again. We made sure we closed down last week's game as quickly as we could. That is all the staff, not just me, and yes it was an uncomfortable few days. We don't want doom and gloom here.'