Town manager Roy Keane says Town’s supporters might forgive the recent poor run of form if the Blues beat Norwich at Carrow Road on Sunday. Town have lost each of their last three games and have dropped to 13th in the Championship.
Keane said: "I think if we can get the right result on Sunday then the fans might forgive the little bad spell that we’ve been going through.
"In any Championship match, but particularly in derby games, scoring the first goal is vital and we’ve not been managing to do that over the last few weeks. Our supporters will be going down there and we’ll try and put on a good show for them.”
The Town boss says the club’s fans would fully deserve some derby success after a number of disappointing seasons: "I think our supporters could do with a boost. It’s been a frustrating few years for the supporters here. They need something to shout about and we’ll try and do that on Sunday.”
Keane feels there has now been too much discussion of the recent booing and his subsequent comments: "I think enough’s been said over the last couple of weeks. Let’s focus on the game and on getting a result for the supporters and moving on.
"We’ve got to go out and try and do the business. The fans will get behind us on Sunday and we need to give them something to shout about.”
The currently under fire Blues boss says pressure is inevitable, particularly when going into a derby: "If you win football matches everything takes care of itself. But when you don’t win matches, there’s pressure, it’s part of the game and you’ve got to enjoy it.
"When you go into any derby game you hope there is pressure on your players to perform because if you don’t perform, there’s a good chance you’re going to get beaten.”
Keane is by no means shocked that Norwich have done well since their return to the Championship: "The fact they’ve come up and had a good start to the season shouldn’t surprise anybody, it’s been the same with Leeds and Millwall. They’ve kept the momentum going from last season when they got promoted.
"We’ve watched them recently, they have a go, they look to get forward and score goals, and they’ll be looking to do that on Sunday, no doubt.
"We need to get the balance better than we have in the last few weeks. We need to be solid, but we need to be more of a goal threat.”
Norwich boss Paul Lambert will watch the game from the stands having been handed a two-match ban, but Keane feels this won’t be a significant factor: "I wouldn’t have thought it would make too much of a difference. He’ll get his message across.
"You do a lot of your work in the week and then trust your players when they go out there. I’m sure Paul will get his messages to his staff via walkie-talkies or mobile phones. I don’t think that will be a major problem.”