Jonny Howson is adamant Norwich City's players do not buy into the hype touting them as the best squad in the Championship.

City's recent top flight pedigree combined with a summer transfer makeover that saw them add to a core of Premier League operators has earned them generous praise from a host of second tier rivals.

Norwich head to Nottingham Forest on Saturday aiming to bounce back from a Middlesbrough mauling and Howson accepts it is down to Neil Adams' troops to justify that billing.

'People can say we have the best squad in this league but there is only one way to prove that and that's on the pitch,' he said. 'If we are promoted and sat at the top of the league come the end then we can come out and say we had the best squad.

'If you put the Middlesbrough game to one side, it has just been small things that needed to change. We have dominated and slipped up when we could have won the majority of the recent games by two or three. No matter what club you are at you should have that expectancy and the desire to want to play well and win games; regardless of the size of the club or the pressure from the outside. That should come from within.'

Howson rejects the theory Norwich's early season surge convinced the majority of their opponents they must blunt City's attacking philosophy rather than take the Canaries on at their own game. Norwich were undone again on Teesside by a team happy to concede territory and possession before probing for weaknesses on the counter.

'Each team has a different way of playing and you have to be able to adapt to different styles and how teams approach us,' he said. 'Whatever the opponent comes at us with we feel should be able to deal with it and respond to that. We are one of the strongest teams in the league, so maybe they do look at us in a certain way, but the group we have here should be able to deal with that.'

Howson revealed he has fond memories of the City Ground.

'I scored my last goal for Leeds there so hopefully that is a nice omen. We won 4-1 that night so I would certainly take that result again,' he said. 'They have not had a great time of it as well recently. If we can score an early goal that puts them under pressure. In this league things can change very quickly. We have to be right at it from the start.'