Dean Smith Manager
DEAN Smith called on Norwich and their supporters to turn Carrow Road into a fortress after they secured a second Premier League win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Saints. Goals from Teemu Pukki and captain Grant Hanley, on his 30th birthday, saw the Canaries make it back-to-back triumphs, after they also beat Brentford two weeks ago in what proved Daniel Farke’s last match in charge.
Dean Smith said: “Winning two on the spin is hard to do and coming from behind is hard to do, so this should build on the belief gained from the Brentford game. Home form is really important. We know how hard the Premier League is and when you have home advantage and the supporters behind you, like they were, it is really important. We want to make this a tough place to come, win, lose or draw. Whenever a team leaves, they have to say this was a tough place to come. Southampton will say that. They were at a good level in first half but we improved and deserved to win.”
Che Adams fired Saints in front after four minutes and Smith admitted his mind cast back two weeks to when a similar thing happened at St Mary’s after Adam Armstrong struck inside three minutes in a 1-0 defeat, which proved his last game at Aston Villa.
Dean Smith added: “I thought it was a good team performance, especially second half, and they stuck together. Young Brandon Williams was excellent, in particular defensively, and these players will grow. We have only had two training sessions and they will get better. It was a tough first 45. They got off to a great start and I was thinking back to two weeks earlier when they got off to great start against Aston Villa when I was there, but the players showed great character.”
