FOXES’ TAILS WAG
David warns his Canaries of Prem quality backlash
DAVID WAGNER says his Norwich side face their biggest test of the season today – despite Leicester’s recent slump.
The Canaries head to the King Power Stadium on a high after three successive wins that has left them in the final play-off spot and enjoying a four-point cushion to seventh.
And they face a Leicester side on an alarming slide after just one win in their last six league games.
That run has threatened to derail the Foxes’ promotion bid with Enzo Maresca’s side dropping out of the top two following Friday’s 1-0 defeat at Bristol City.
But Wagner (right) insists Leicester’s slump counts for little.
The Norwich boss said: “They have the best squad, the biggest budget. It’s a proper Premier League side that plays in the Championship.
“They have been on top or near the top of the league and they will get promoted, whatever the result against us.
“We respect everyone on the highest possible level for sure and especially Leicester but it doesn’t change how we approach a game.
“We look after ourselves, and I think this is one of the big steps this group has done in recent weeks and months and one of the reasons why the players play with this confidence, with this belief, with this freedom.
“This would be the biggest test of the season anyway, whether the momentum is for them or us. That is irrelevant.
“The truth is this can happen. If you see the individuals in their squad, this is the best squad in the league by miles. This is the truth.
“If you see recent results, maybe they are not in their favour but if you look in a little bit more detail, and see the expected goals or the statistics, I think they deserved not to lose one single game.
“What does it mean for us? Nothing. Because we will do it like we’ve done in the past. We started a long time ago to make ourselves independent from the opponent.”
Meanwhile, Harry Winks says it’s time for his Leicester teammates to stand up and be counted.
The Foxes’ promotion push has come off the rails in recent weeks.
After opening up a doubledigit gap at the top of the table and appearing title certs, on Friday they slipped out of the top two for the first time since September.
The Foxes midfielder said: “It’s eight games to find some form, to get back into confidence, and we’ve got good enough players and a good enough squad to do that.
“We’ve got players in the team who have done that before, and they’ve been here and they’ve been in these situations and right now is not the time to blame or to sulk or to be down.
“The most important thing now is we approach the next game with our chests out.
“We go out there and we give everything we can because it’s important that we find some sort of form.
“We know that every game that we play from now to the end of the season is going to be tough, but we need to find a way of somehow getting back to that form we had.”