Norwich hitman Simeon Jackson admitted he knew nothing about his match-winning hat-trick goal which kept City firmly in the race for automatic promotion after a 3-2 Carrow Road Championship thriller against Derby.

Jackson bundled home a priceless close range effort five minutes into added on time to help Paul Lambert's men move a huge step closer to the Premier League after Russell Martin's initial strike cannoned back off Alberto Bueno and struck the Canadian.

Derby twice pegged back the Canaries, but Jackson's eighth goal in his last six games maintained City's slender one-point advantage over nearest rivals Cardiff with two games left in the battle for second place.

Jackson's decisive touch sparked wild scenes of celebration on and off the pitch – but the striker admitted luck had played a massive part.

'To tell you the truth I don't know what happened in the box for the winner. I just got lucky,' he said. 'It hit me in the mid-riff and it went in but I was just delighted that it helped us get the three points. When it went in, it was a bit of shock really because it only just hit me. As the gaffer says, that is what he pays me for. If we can get some more of those between now and the end of the season I'll be delighted.

'The way we celebrated just shows how much it means to us and the hard work we put in. It was an amazing feeling but we still have two games to go. I don't know if it was the most important goal of my career. Maybe, but hopefully the next games coming up will seal it off. It was definitely important to get the win.'

Jackson paid tribute to his team mates after plundering a second hat-trick in the past month to continue his purple patch in front of goal.

'It's great to get another hat-trick but it's really about the team,' he said. 'We just have so much resilience and everyone is enjoying their football. It's just the way we are playing really. We are playing great stuff. Being up front in this team we create loads of chances.

'As a striker you just have to make sure you convert as many as you can. No-one really cares where the goals are coming from right now as long as they are going in. The Scunthorpe game when I scored a hat-trick was definitely a starting point for me after coming back from the international break. I guess getting goals just builds the confidence.'