No scapegoats at Norwich City for Alex Neil ahead of Ipswich return
Alex Neil is confident Norwich City's Championship play-off fate will not hinge on individual mistakes. Picture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Alex Neil insists Norwich City's unity is their greatest asset ahead of a tense Championship play-off semi-final return against Ipswich.
The Canaries were pegged back at Portman Road last weekend, after Town cashed in on charitable defending following on from individual errors recently against Fulham and Middlesbrough.
Neil is confident mistakes will not decide this weekend's shoot-out for a place at Wembley and a shot at the Premier League.
'There is nothing worse as a player. I have been there myself when you make a mistake in a big game and you just want the ground to swallow you up,' said Neil. 'I think going into any 90 minutes with so much riding on it there is always a concern. What you are hoping is they give everything and the boys who have done well over the course of the season, or since I have been, here don't make an error. I want them to be focused and concentrated and to go and do themselves justice and perform as they have done for me and as they are capable of doing.
'You can look at any goal you concede and there are always four or five little instances where you could have done better to prevent it. I am hoping we don't have any repeats.'
Neil wants Norwich's fan base to ratchet up the pressure on the visitors.
'It is absolutely crucial,' he said. 'I thought both sets of fans were fantastic (at Ipswich), and to be fair, our away support is always in fine voice. The home fans created a good atmosphere and we want that advantage.
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'To have 2,000 or 27,000 is significantly different, and hopefully we can make them a bit nervous or maybe timid coming to our place. Everybody knows what it means to the fans and I expect them to be in full voice and hopefully the players can feed off that and put a really good performance in for them.'