Worthington: It's a tough job

The Nigel Worthington Column

We're having a wonderful time at Norwich. In the last two weeks since my previous appearance here, we've won both our games and are now sitting third in the table, level on points with Sheffield United and one behind the leaders West Brom.

We were at the Bescot a fortnight ago and to come away from there with three points was a big plus. It came between two very good Walsall wins over Wigan 2-0 and Forest 4-1, so for us to go there and get a 3-1 result in good style was excellent for the club.

Millwall last Saturday was potentially a very difficult game, and it was a hard match for us, but we played exceptionally well in the first half and scored three excellent goals from the point of view of good football. Then in the second half we were ultra-professional. We made sure we didn't give anything away and that a scenario similar to a Leicester City v Wolves or a West Brom v West Ham didn't happen. We did that and came out with three more points.

One of our young lads, Ian Henderson, played a big part in both games. He came off the bench against Walsall and worked very hard scoring one and creating another. Then against Millwall he popped up again and scored two. It's nice for him and for the club to have good youngsters coming through. That's one thing we've always said at Norwich, if the youth is there and they're good enough, they can come in and are given a chance to play their part.  

Ian is doing just that at the moment, but we also must make sure the younger players keep their feet on the ground. We've seen plenty of players at all levels of football where they catch the eye then turn out to be just a flash in the pan. What we try and teach at Norwich is the hard-work ethic of the game and that being a good professional is all about consistency at a high level and attitude both on and off the field.

I'm fortunate enough to have a number of youngsters knocking on the door, they blend well with the players we have on loan and others that have been with Premiership clubs. They all learn from each other and it's certainly helped put us where we are now.

When I look at our position though and compare it to the top of the Premiership it seems light years away. Chelsea for example are, like us, in the top three of the division, but the similarities end there. They have had a very wealthy backer to whom money is no object in transfer fees or salaries. You can see the sheer quality that is at Stamford Bridge, it's like looking up at the sky and every single player you see is a star. We're only used to seeing players like thatplaying together in a World XI testimonial side - or in your dreams...

I admire the way Claudio Ranieri has handled the situation of managing the club and the players. There has been a lot of speculation about his position, but he has continued to focus on his job. To be in charge of players of that calibre and quality must be very exciting. No doubt it's a challenge, but the way he has dealt with it up to now has been first class.

This week though it's been the managerial role at Leeds, who are propping up the table, that everyone has been talking about. Eddie Gray has gone in to take temporary charge and that is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. One thing he must do is get the spark back into the players. He needs to get them playing for the club and for themselves. It's about pride and enjoyment.

Leeds United is a great club with a wonderful history and fantastic fans but they're in a real mess. Relegation is unthinkable but there's still a long way to go. If they can get a couple of results, they can soon find themselves out of the bottom three and mentally it would be a huge boost.

Eddie will have to get his best players back playing though. No person is bigger than the club, but to have someone like Mark Viduka kicking his heels is no good for them in their plight. Eddie will want to get him back involved as soon as possible, he'll want to put problems to one side and concentrate on playing football and get the team back on track for the good of Leeds United and for Football.

But for the good of Norwich City, we want to beat Watford tomorrow in front of our own fans. They'll be a handful though...

Worthers' Dream XI

Seeing as Claudio is allowed to pick such a great team every week, then I'm going to pick my dream Premiership XI. I hope he doesn't mind me taking a couple of his players though...

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