Norwich City know the recipe for successful rebuilding according to Grant Holt.

Eastern Daily Press: Grant Holt has a laugh during the demolition of Ipswich Town at Portman Road in 2011.Grant Holt has a laugh during the demolition of Ipswich Town at Portman Road in 2011. (Image: Focus Images 2011)

The three-time player of the season is a free agent this summer and would not think twice about a Carrow Road return – but even he believes Alex Neil should follow a different path to make another, immediate Premier League return.

'Everyone knows I'd put the shirt back on in a heartbeat,' smiled Holt, who spent the second half of last season at League One Rochdale.

'But for me the club needs to go back to what we did five or six years ago – buy youthful, keen lads who want to progress. It's not digging out a new Grant Holt but digging out a group that wants to achieve success.

'Norwich need to keep together what they can, let lads go who want to leave, and build with the others to progress to the next level.'

Holt has his own take on where it all went wrong for his former club this term.

'They didn't really bring in the players they wanted to in the summer,' said Holt, who appeared on Mustard TV's Norwich City show 3 Up Front last night.

'They stumbled a bit over prices and they've done that before.

'They were doing the right things but it looked like they wouldn't get the goals they needed and as it went along, everyone worked them out a little bit.

'I was lucky to play with people who gave me great service. When I wasn't firing, others took the pressure off me.

'Norwich missed that. The group admitted they've not had that consistency and the manager admitted he made mistakes too, which shows the measure of the man.'