Norwich V Bolton at Carrow Road - Match Preview

Norwich manager Paul Lambert said "everybody is hurting" at the club after the midweek mauling at Sunderland as he focused on finding a response when Bolton come to Carrow Road on Saturday.

The Canaries headed to the Stadium of Light on the back of a six-match unbeaten run which had seen them consolidate a place in the top half of the Barclays Premier League and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

However, by his own admission, Lambert's usually well-drilled outfit "never got going" as they were 2-0 down inside 28 minutes.

The Norwich manager nevertheless has confidence his players will have no problem in rising to the challenge when they dust themselves off against Bolton.

"I have never once had a problem trying to lift them again. I think they are hurt by it, everybody is hurting because we just never turned up on that night," Lambert told a news conference. "We never gave Sunderland a game - which is so unlike us.

"Normally if we are going to get beaten, then we will be in the game, but we never got going and we got done.

"It won't be a major overhaul and I have no worries about the lads going again, I never have done.

"They know themselves they let everybody down and ourselves down but to be fair to Sunderland they were much better than us on that night, so we pick ourselves up and go again."

Lambert was not about to dwell on a bad night at the office against his former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill.

"Honestly, I am not going to let one defeat really weigh me down. I never have done," said the Norwich boss. "It is gone, I don't lose sleep over it.

"You mull over it when the game is finished and you are back down the road - but it's like a win, I let it go as quick as anything and the lads will come out as strong as anything when we will give it a go."

Norwich will again be without left-back Marc Tierney (groin) but centre-back Elliott Ward made his long-awaited return to the squad following a pre-season knee injury for the midweek defeat at Sunderland and could be included again.

Coyle feels the club have made sound use of the funds that came from Gary Cahill's sale to Chelsea.

Since Cahill left for a reported #7million, Coyle has brought in another centre-half in Tim Ream, 24, from the New York Red Bulls, and 20-year-old striker Marvin Sordell from Watford.

Ream is a full United States international and Sordell has six caps and two goals to his name for England Under-21s.

And given their respective ages, Coyle believes their acquisition also represents good business off the pitch.

"I think we all accepted that Gary was going to go and once it was decided on the football side that it would happen, what we had to do on the business side was look to try to maximise the situation that we were in," Coyle said.

"In doing that, we have then reinvested that money. We have not gone and spent the money on 32 or 33-year-olds where there is very little or no resale value.

"We have tried to invest it in young players who will become assets for the football club and whose value will appreciate.

"That is opposed to a quick fix, somebody who will do you a turn for a year and then all of a sudden you are back to square one. We are not in a situation where we feel we need to be doing that.

"I always look to try to put in place a plan where you invest in youth and bring them on year by year."

Coyle, a former Burnley manager, believes the standard of English football's second tier should not be underestimated - with the success enjoyed by Norwich a prime example.

He said: "Sometimes there is a snobbery because everyone looks at the Premier League but there are good players in good teams in other divisions.

"You look at the teams that have been promoted. Last year people would have looked and thought that most of their lads were just Championship players, but far from it.

"They have come into the Premier League and evolved and showed their quality. You only have to look at Norwich for that. They have been outstanding individually and collectively and they make for very dangerous opponents."

Midfielder Ryo Miyaichi, who also joined on deadline day on loan from Arsenal for the rest of the season, and Sordell could be set for their debuts but Ream is flying in from the United States too late to be considered.

Gretar Steinsson is a major doubt having picked up a knock in midweek.

Source: PA

Source: PA