The importance of Norwich City turning their mini unbeaten run into a period of Championship dominance is not lost on Neil Adams.

The City boss watched on in delight at the start of the season as his Canaries stormed to the top of the early standings by winning five of their opening seven matches. However, a 1-0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic was the beginning of a five-match winless league run which helped slow the rampant Canaries' progress.

That slump in form was finally ended by a 2-1 home victory over Bolton Wanderers on Friday night and Adams is aware that his troops need to build on that triumph ahead of tonight's tough trip to third-placed Middlesbrough.

The City boss, whose side sit sixth, said: 'We're 15 games in and had you have said we'd be three points off the top of the table after that I think we probably all would have taken it.

'We're a little bit disappointed and frustrated because we feel we could have had more points, certainly points that our performances have merited. Obviously you get what you get. And now it's a case of trying to kick on again and keep making sure those points and victories keep coming.'

Boro have only lost once in 10 matches and – along with a host of outfits – have serious ambitions of challenging for promotion. However, City remain well-placed despite their indifferent streak and are just one point behind their Riverside hosts.

Defender Michael Turner is likely to start at centre-back once more for the Yellows and he expects a difficult test in the north-east.

The former Sunderland player said: 'It is a long trip but we knew the fixture list before the season started. We knew we had tough Tuesday night games and this is another one. It's a long journey but we're all looking forward to it on the back of Friday's result.

'They're a big club in the Championship. They've been there for a few years and they'll be looking to get promotion, as a lot of teams are in this league. They're in good form and are obviously above us in the league. But we'll be going there hoping to put on a show and continue the way we have been playing really. We were quite pleased with how we've been playing but it's all about results. The Bolton game was huge for us and there was a little bit of relief to come out of it with a win.'