Chris LakeyPaul Lambert says the lure of Carrow Road will be one of his big selling points as he tries to attract new players to Norwich City for next season's Championship campaign.Chris Lakey

Paul Lambert says the lure of Carrow Road will be one of his big selling points as he tries to attract new players to Norwich City for next season's Championship campaign.

The Canaries boss is working within tight budgetary guidelines, but says City's impressive facilities - and the promise that lies within the Carrow Road walls - can make up for the lack of hard cash.

Lambert is rumoured to have splashed out up to �300,000 on his first signing of the summer, Brighton skipper Andrew Crofts.

But he admits that his transfer activities will be carried out with a contract offer in one hand and a guided tour of City's facilities in the other.

Crofts' signing was the perfect example.

'I knew there were other clubs in the Championship that were looking at him and you just try and sell the club as best you can,' said Lambert.

'We are not financially as big as a lot of clubs in the division now and we have to use it, this stadium, and everything we have got here, like the fan base, to sell the club as well.

'The fans play a major part in it. People come here and play and whether you are an opposition player or a Norwich player, the atmosphere is terrific in here, so that's one of your main selling points and hopefully players will want to come.'

City's decision to add more than 1,000 extra seats to take Carrow Road's capacity up to 27,000 in time for next season adds to the attraction - with a long-term plan to build it up to 35,000 dependent on reaching the Premier League, where the riches on offer could transform the club.

Inroads need to be made into a debt of more than �23m, although chairman Alan Bowkett says the club is in 'detailed discussions' with a number of parties over investment.

While Bowkett and chief executive David McNally do the work behind the scenes, Lambert's job is to avoid the recruitment pitfalls of recent seasons and continue to push the club in an upward direction.

'This club suffered in the last few seasons with people coming and not being hungry to do well for it or just being loan players and wanting to leave and that's something I just can't afford to do,' he said. 'We can't afford to do it as a football club.

'I wasn't going to take the club down that road again.'

Crofts appears to be the perfect example of what to look for in a footballer.

'Andrew only 25, he is as enthusiastic as the day is long, which I love in a footballer - that you give me everything you've got - and he has got ability to go with it,' he said.

'It is a challenge for him as it is for everybody else to go and prove yourself. He wants to go as far as he can in his career and that's what I look for.'