Daniel Farke hails Norwich after they take step closer to Premier League

Posted Sunday, March 17, 2019 by PA

Norwich head coach Daniel Farke was pleased to see his promotion-chasing side show “steel and togetherness” in their 2-1 victory at Rotherham.

Goals either side of the break from Kenny McLean and Ben Godfrey made it six triumphs on the spin as the Canaries took another step towards the Premier League after Sheffield United’s win over Leeds.

McLean’s hooked effort from Teemu Pukki’s chip put Norwich in front in first-half stoppage-time.

Rotherham had levelled through in-form midfielder Semi Ajayi’s sixth goal in five games, but their joy was short-lived with Godfrey heading in the winner from McLean’s corner in the 57th minute.

Farke said: “Tough games will still come and in the Championship the momentum can change quickly.

“Each and every player was switched on. Everyone was highly motivated. This win is massive. I am a pretty happy man. It was a team performance.

“We are handling spicy games and when we are in the spotlight. We have overachieved in the eyes of so many people so far. It’s a good position to be in.

“It is (Rotherham) a really tough place and it’s difficult to beat them.

“They were willing to dig in and it was a massive performance. We had to show steel and togetherness. We have had more entertaining games of football but it was important to win some battles. It’s a joy to work every day with these lads.

“We know we are in a brilliant position. It was important to protect our gap to West Brom and Middlesbrough. It’s not already done but we have a big chance in the fight for automatic promotion.

“We hope the players come back from the international break without any injuries and we will go again.”

The Millers remain in the drop zone following the loss but battled until the final whistle, leaving manager Paul Warne with the feeling they have enough to stay up.

He said: “I thought the lads were excellent. If Norwich have their best day and we have our best day, we’re always going to struggle because they are a formidable side.

“With eight games to go, if we can keep that level of performance up, we can have a great end to the season.

“Going a goal down before half-time, when we played well, was a bit of a hammer blow.

“It was disappointing to concede a set-piece. We should mark better than that, it’s inexcusable. Overall the lads were virtually blemish free.”

Injuries, suspensions and Ryan Williams’ absence due to the pregnancy of his partner left Rotherham with only six substitutes.

But Warne refused to complain, adding: “I like adversity. We embrace it. We couldn’t fill our bench but you can only play 14 at any one time. Their bench obviously looked a lot stronger than ours.

“There are no complaints. There were some really good performances. We are good entertainment, it’s just a pity we didn’t get one back at the end.

“We always pick the team to try and win games and make the subs to win games.”