Neil Adams is determined to cut out the defensive charity that has cost Norwich City dearly this week.

The Canaries slumped to a 1-0 Capital One Cup defeat at Shrewsbury after conceding from a free-kick in a repeat of Birmingham's second goal in the recent 2-2 Championship draw at Carrow Road. Adams opted for a new look defence in Shropshire, but the same vulnerability was evident against the League Two Shrews.

'Yes, it is a concern for us,' he said. 'The thing that disappointed me was conceding the free-kick in the first place because we knew Shrewsbury placed a big emphasis on free-kicks and if you give one away in your own half it is probably going to come down your throats into our penalty box.

'I think it might have been Jonny (Howson) who got pinned for the original header and then it loops over him and we have to do better than that. I thought he did well. He has a great engine anyway, he is a fit lad and you know he will always work hard. He did that right through the time he was out. I was really pleased for Jonny because it was an innocuous type of injury he suffered in pre-season and he has worked hard to get back fit. I think he is fine now.'

Adams insisted City's tame cup exit hurt deeply.

'I'm not happy to be out of the cup. I genuinely mean that. That is not to say I wouldn't have swapped it for three points on Saturday, because we all know here the league is the priority for us. I'm not going to try and pretend that it doesn't matter. It does. It is a horrible feeling losing a game we felt we were strong enough to have won. We have to prepare for Blackpool now but that doesn't take away the disappointment from portions of the performance.'