Neil upbeat on Norwich prospects

Alex Neil believes the future is bright at Norwich City despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Watford came too late to save the Canaries, who dropped into the Championship along with Newcastle United following Sunderland’s thrashing of Everton.

Neil said after the game that talks would take place at the end of the campaign regarding his own role, but he believes the club is well placed to secure an instant return to the top flight

“We don’t need to sell anyone – we’re financially stable,” the Scot said ahead of the final-day fixture against the Toffees. “We want a team that is hungry and up for the fight next year.

“A lot of young players are going to be allowed to stake their claim to play a major part next year, and that’ll be up to them.

“We’re a great club and we’re really well-run. Not long ago we were in League One, people have to remember that.”

He was heartened by the display against Watford, which drew warm praise from the home faithful, but left to reflect on what might have been.

“We played without any pressure on us last night [Wednesday],” he added. “I told the players to just go out and enjoy the game and they had freedom.

“I wasn’t expecting the reaction from the fans. I’m really grateful for that and I hope they recognise the hard work I put in.

“We didn’t hit the heights that we thought we could [this season]. We had chances to make ourselves safe and we didn’t do enough.”

The Carrow Road club released a statement on Thursday in which they outlined the appointment of a new permanent chief executive as a priority, with David McNally having stood down from the role this week.