Paul Lambert is adamant the fear of failure is still fuelling Norwich City's Premier League charge.

The Canaries moved up to the dizzy heights of eighth in the table after another comeback victory against Swansea at the weekend. Lambert admits City have exceeded his own top flight expectations – but warned feet must remain firmly on the ground inside Carrow Road.

'Listen, we have punched miles, an absolute mile over our weight,' he said. 'We have probably spent the least money of all in the league. Two years ago this club was so close to going into administration.

'We just keep our head down, backside up the in air and keep going. That is what we do. The fear of losing drives us on. We have to keep that. As soon as you lose it, the hunger goes from you as a player and it the same as a manager.

'I think once you lose that fear of losing it can come back and bite you. I think the players know me and my attitude by now; that you can never rest on it. Even if you have success, don't rest on your laurels. You have to keep on going. We have bought into it and the group here have been absolutely fantastic.'

Lambert insists the mission statement remains unaltered after his side's latest league win at the Liberty Stadium.

'Until somebody tells me it is over then I'll believe it,' he said. 'I don't know (where we can finish). As long as I can stay above it. It's about survival, which is staying 17th or above. That is what I want. If we can survive, that will surpass anything myself, Ian Culverhouse or Gary Karsa will have done in League One or the Championship.

'I don't have a set target (of points) in my head. The expectancy level is already there with the amount of people who come to watch us, so I don't need to add to it. The lads just need to go and play, keep doing what they are doing and hopefully come the end of it and we stay in this league then that will be the time to think we have done fine.'

Lambert's mantra was echoed by Swansea counterpart Brendan Rodgers, with the Welsh side still nine points clear of the relegation zone despite a rare home defeat.

'I have said before that nothing has been achieved yet,' he said. 'We cannot afford to daydream or look forward and think we are in the Premier League next season. We have put ourselves in a great position, so I cannot be overly-critical, but there's still a hell of a lot of work to do. There are still 13 games to go. We have to focus on each one as it comes and make sure we work hard in every one of them.

'We need our foot to the pedal all the time in this league. We need eight, nine or ten players performing, but we just didn't quite do enough.'