Declan Rudd is getting better with each Norwich City outing for Alex Neil.

The 24-year-old kept the first Premier League clean sheet of his career in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa to continue his impressive form since replacing John Ruddy.

'He has done very well. He showed signs of that in the cup games,' said Neil. 'I think he played three before he got his chance in the league and performed really well in each of them and he is getting better with each game. Goalkeeper is not a position you would change that often and now Declan has got his opportunity and shown up well that is credit to him because he has waited a long time for his chance. The most important thing is we win games, regardless of whether it is 2-1, or 2-0, but it certainly gives confidence to the back four. It is like anything else.

'There have been inconsistencies in performances all season – from a team and individual perspective – so if we can level that out we will have more opportunities to win points.'

Neil must decide whether to shuffle his pack again for the final game of a congested festive period. Andre Wisdom comes into the mix after his hamstring injury but Matt Jarvis is still only in light training following his knee lay-off.

'Matt has not done a whole day with the players yet, he has mainly been training on his own. Hopefully if everything goes to plan maybe another week,' said Neil. 'There will always be signs of tiredness, particularly when you play twice in three days at this level, like we did this week. That puts extra demands on the body but we rotated a few and that means the squad is fresh.'