Alex Neil is not a man for the sun lounger, which is why Norwich's boss spent most of his summer honing the Canaries' Premier League blueprint.

Neil revealed on Friday his two-week sunshine break with the family was peppered with football business – but the 34-year-old would not have it any other way.

'I went on holiday but after a couple of days you end up getting bored. You want to get your teeth back into it,' he said. 'If I am not involved in football I am with my family. I went away for a couple of weeks, but that is probably harder work when you have two young ones.

'It was about getting the balance. I allocated time for football, looking at players and being on the phone, and saying to you can contact me between these hours but obviously when you are negotiating those rules are there to be broken, but I think I struck a good balance.'

Neil is ready for the personal challenge ahead after a stellar start to his management career with first Hamilton and now the Canaries.

'The last two-and-a-half-years I have probably crammed in 10 years of managerial experience,' he said. 'I am used to being busy, used to being under pressure and used to fans demanding results.

'I am used to dealing with leaving players out of big games, because I have had a lot of that during this period.

'It is a normal pattern for me. Maybe some managers go through a mundane period, were they have done okay in mid-table and stuff, but the high-pressure environments is what I'm used to.'