Blues boss Paul Jewell says his Norwich counterpart Paul Lambert has instilled the type of belief in his squad that he’s aiming to replicate in his side. Jewell and Lambert face one another for the first time as managers at Portman Road this evening.
Jewell said: "Certainly when I when I went to watch them play Bristol City, you got the feeling that he’s got something going, that he’s got them on a roll.
"There’s a great atmosphere around the club, they’re confident and looking forward to every match. Winning football matches breeds confidence.”
Jewell has sought to instil similar belief in his players since taking over at Portman Road in January: "I think you need that resilience over a season. I’ve spoken quite a lot about mental strength and trying to toughen them up.
"That doesn’t come overnight, that comes with belief. I think Norwich are one of the examples of that. I think they’ve scored 10 goals in injury time.
"They have that belief that they are never beaten, that they will keep going and they are going to score a goal. We want to get that into our squad. But that doesn’t happen overnight, that happens over a period of time.
"Our remit when we got here was to make sure we are in this league next season and I think the players have done magnificently well to be where we are - safe from relegation quite a while ago and comfortably mid-table.”
The Town manager is playing down the Blues’ chances of making the play-offs: "It’s mathematically possible but I think we’re all realistic and know that whatever we achieve this season is probably better than we thought we could when we came in.
"We never give up because we’ve got 12 points to play for, but it’s really got to be a Devon Loch type situation that’s going to get us in there. The most important thing for me now is the Norwich game.”