Norwich City boss makes comment which will please Plymouth

The Canaries will play away to Argyle’s relegation rivals Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on the final day of the season tomorrow.
Norwich City manager David Wagner has stated that ‘we will go strong’ when selecting his team for tomorrow’s season-ending away encounter against Plymouth Argyle’s relegation rivals Birmingham City.

The fifth-placed Canaries only need a point to secure a Championship play-off spot, and while they will be without former Argyle striker Ashley Barnes due to a calf injury, Wagner made it clear that he would not rest any players ahead of a potential promotion push to the Premier League in the coming days.

Argyle knows a win over play-off hopefuls. Tomorrow, Hull City at Home Park will take them to safety. A draw or a defeat, however, will put them at risk of being overtaken by Birmingham, who are one point behind.

Wagner stated in his pre-match press conference: “We prefer to win football games, and we want to finish as high in the table as possible. We’re not mathematically safe.

“Because of this, we shall be strong. We will assault this game because we believe that if we win, we will finish fifth. At the end of the day, we all work for a professional company. This means we enjoy playing and winning professional games. This is exactly as it is, and it would remain the same if we were mathematically safe.”

He went on to say, “We want to score points, win this game, and finish as high as possible in the table. This is exactly the same from matchday one to matchday 46.

“Obviously, it is now a game with a lot of pressure on both teams. Perhaps there is a little more for Birmingham because they need to win and are fighting relegation.

“This makes things much more exciting. It will undoubtedly be a tremendous occasion and game. But if we do our job, we’ll have some more important games coming up. This is an excellent opportunity for everyone of us to demonstrate our ability to remain calm. “We’ll keep our heads cool while playing with fire in our bellies.”

Meanwhile, Birmingham interim manager Gary Rowett feels his team’s home advantage at sold-out St Andrew’s might make all the difference against Norwich. He has been in charge since march after Tony Mowbray had to step down through illness.
Rowett stated, “At home, our fans play an important role. When the arena is packed and rocking – I believe this will be the third full house in four home games – it makes a significant impact. Every club and manager would say the same thing about their fans, but at St Andrew’s, it makes a significant difference.

“I believe that’s the case this weekend. The atmosphere will be fantastic, and the supporters will be there to cheer on the players. We need to ensure that the team feeds off of that and gets the most out of the performance.

“You can have a plan for every possibility, but one thing we know with a game like this is you are going to have to react pretty quickly within the game, as a player and a manager.”

If Birmingham defeat Norwich, they need one of Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday (away to Sunderland) or Blackburn Rovers (at Leicester City) to lose and then they would stay up. A draw could be enough for Blues but only if the Pilgrims were beaten by five goals or more against Hull.

Rowett said: “We have had an eye on results elsewhere in the last three games. We knew at the weekend we had to win the game because Sheffield Wednesday were winning. That’s been the mentality anyway.

“You can’t just go and win a game because another game is a draw. But at that point you can throw the dice with the subs and you can try and be as attacking as you can possibly be. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be attacking, it just means that’s your intention.

“We have been aware of the results in games because objectively you have to be. It doesn’t really shape how you feel about the game it just allows you to make more informed decisions.

“We’ll be exactly the same on Saturday. I believe we need to know, but if you’re 1-0 up, you can’t count on one of the other teams not scoring a 94th-minute goal. You must be attentive of your own performance and ensure that you fulfil your end of the contract, which is plain to us: win the game. I don’t believe a draw is something we can consider.

“Even if another team loses by a specific number of goals, it makes no difference to us. It’s game on, and we’ll do everything we can to win.”