Chris Hughton is happy to deal with the gamut of emotions in football – as long as his Norwich City squad is pulling in the same direction.

The Canaries welcome Martin O'Neill's struggling Sunderland to Carrow Road tomorrow (4pm) looking to extend their run to eight Premier League games without defeat.

A clean bill of health following Wednesday's draw at Southampton will certainly help – the third time in four trips City have had to come from behind to earn their point.

And while some Norwich fans picked up on the reaction of skipper Grant Holt to his late substitution – heading straight down the tunnel following a tough night's shift – Hughton believes the more important things go on away from the gaze of the fans.

'I think sometimes those things can be read into too much,' said Hughton. 'What is far more important is what is said behind closed doors and the spirit that you have in the team.

'Sometimes players make mistakes and as managers and coaches we have to accept that at times. It is a very emotional game and what you want is players that are desperate to play, that are frustrated when perhaps they are not playing or things are not going so well. You want those type of emotions.

'But far more important than all of that is what is spoken behind closed doors and how you deal with any situations.'

The Canaries are currently one of the form sides in the top flight, which represents an impressive turnaround from the early season struggles that one point had plenty of people outside Norfolk already writing City off as relegation fodder. And while their current run has relied on picking up their wins at Carrow Road, Hughton is more concerned about keeping their points total ticking over – wherever they come from.

'The players deserve everything they have had in recent games and they haven't been able to get these results without putting in the work they have,' said the Norwich manager.

'What has been pleasing is the last three games away from home they have been behind and we had to get ourselves back into the game, which meant we have had the ability to finish strongly in games.

'That is something that is always pleasing but as I've continually said, we at the football club know what we have to put in to get results in this division and they have shown that in abundance.

'We went through a period earlier in the season when our form was good but that first win took longer than we wanted to come, but then once you get that there is that little bit of relief all round.

'Certainly away from home there are so many tough tasks, tough games, that first win can take longer. But as long as you are accumulating points, which we are at this moment, then it is pleasing.'