Daniel Farke Press Conference
Source: Norwich Official Site
14:09
That's all from the boss this afternoon, thank you for following today's live blog.
14:09
DF: It's more difficult for us to have three games in six days on a difficult pitch with back-to-back away travels. It's tricky and we're not in the best position to rotate too much. The TV broadcasters have picked this game as a Friday night game, so it was moved forward. It's not the best situation for us, but I have no complaints. We can't change this, that is why we train so much.
14:07
DF: A win is always a good statement and even better for the points and confidence. It's our third game in six days, we had no chance to think about Swansea for a second, so it's difficult to feel enthusiastic for this game. It's a much more complicated game than Leeds two years ago, but every point helps. If we come back with three points, it's a massive result for us, but we won't judge it too much as a final.
14:04
DF: It's too early to judge the end of the season, we have too many games to go. We have many games in position one, but we need at least 80 points to be safe in the playoffs, so we still need 25 points. For automatic promotion, we need 35 or to come as close to 90 points as we can. Two years ago, Leeds were in this position and didn't finish in automatic promotion, it was us and Sheffield United.
14:02
DF: I would be happy to be 15 points ahead of the others, it would make my life easier and you wouldn't have to worry about keeping it up until the end of the season. Even I have to remind myself of my expectations and what I want.
14:00
DF: I think worry is the price you have to pay for being successful. I think it's normal. We won the league two years ago and the stadiums were exploding, everyone could go for a drink and celebrate. You take that as normal, it seems normal to say we should win the league again. It's a different set-up now. It's so much more difficult to be successful in this league, no one thinks about when we were mid-table in this league!
13:57
DF: If I'm honest, I think the poorer start was a bit of relegation hangover. A few players needed to find their focus and motivation to play on the Championship level. We didn't have a proper pre-season, we started the season on the back of an international break. I think the run was more due to these problems. I didn't feel like during January we were worrying about any players coming into mine or Stuart's office asking for a transfer.
13:54
DF: We still have 19 games to go and it's definitely possible for Teemu to score 18 in these! He's missed a few games through injury, two seasons ago he played almost every minute. I got the feeling in the last game that his movements got him in good positions six or seven times. It's easier for him when he has players like Emi Buendia, Marco Stiepermann or Jordan Hugill next to him.
13:52
DF: We need to be there with key passes for Teemu. Him and Przemyslaw Placheta with his pace, they aren't the players to play they key pass, they need it. Creating better chances will be one of the key topics tomorrow.
13:44
DF: Emi Buendia is a key player, it makes a difference when he's available. Jordan Hugill was fantastic in recent weeks, we could mix it up because he's completely different to Teemu Pukki. We could play them together or mix up our game a little bit more. We're a bit more flexible, it's always better to have a few more options. Right now it's difficult because we have to stick to the same players who are available and they have to deliver in all three games.
13:42
DF: I'm not 100% sure if it will be a different game to Middlesbrough and Millwall. They played against Barnsley and Barnsley had more possession. They're fantastic lads and top players on this level, they have the quality up front to be there with their chances. They have a different style to Middlesbrough, but I can't tell if it's going to be an open game. We need an all-round performance to create solutions against a solid opponent.
13:40
DF: We're going to Swansea and we're going to try our best in a difficult situation, this is our third game in six days. Emi Buendia is unavailable, Jordan Hugill is unavailable, Adam Idah was out for months, Onel Hernandez was out for months, so I'm not expecting any miracles but I'm not fearing the worst.
13:34
DF: We don't have a natural right to win the Championship, we won it two years ago with the best Norwich season of all time, but we won it on the last gameday at Villa Park. It's not like we're in cruise control and 20 points ahead. Our points averages are better than two seasons ago, to have doubts is nothing to do with the reality.
13:31
DF: We won four points against Middlesbrough, two clean sheets. I'd like to see at the end of the season which team has the best record against them and Millwall. We dominated for 75 minutes against them, Tim Krul had one save to make and we took a draw.
13:29
DF: I don't have any doubts in my mind, the lads are doing fantastic and deserve all the praise. We spoke quite honestly and said we wanted to finish in the top six this season. This league is about consistency, when I judge our last performances against Middlesbrough they signed two new players, players from injury came back and they were just outside the top six. We played without key players and didn't allow them one chance against us.
13:24
DF: During this season, it's more or less every game is similar. Whether it's a club fighting for promotion, or a club fighting relegation, they all play quite compact against us. It's about finding this door opener in as many games as possible. Many, many games we found this, but you'll have games where this is more difficult.
13:23
DF: You will always have a period in a 46-game season where you find it difficult to find the back of the net. I want a bit more, I want us to force it more. 95% of our game was really good, but we want to work on the 5%.
13:22
DF: In general we had two difficult games against Middlesbrough and Millwall away is a difficult game, not one game in the top team has won against them. I think 95% of our game was really good, our pressing, our counter-pressing, our defending, but in the box we have to be a bit more brutal in finishing situations.
13:21
DF: In general, we're in a really good position in the league, we know we realistically need to win 25 more points for the safety of playoffs, and for direct promotion 35. If we win tomorrow, we have to win less in the last games. It's an important game, but no more important than any other.
13:19
DF: No news from the last game, all the players who were available for then are available for this game. Emi Buendia is still out because of his yellow and red card.
