Norwich City’s interim manager, Alan Irvine, has praised his players for their defensive work in Saturday’s thrashing of Play-Off hopefuls Reading, reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Irvine’s side put in a fine display to beat Jaap Stam’s promotion contenders 7-1 at Carrow Road, showing the rest of the Sky Bet Championship their league position does not reflect their ability.

What was particularly impressive was Norwich’s game plan to stop the Royals enjoying time on the ball, something most teams in the Championship allow Stam’s side.

Reflecting on a fine performance, Irvine said: “The platform for what happened was our positioning when we didn’t have the ball.

“Huddersfield gave us problems in how they played out from the back and we didn’t do that job well enough when they were in possession.

“Against Reading the lads were spot on to stop them at source. Reading, as a team, on average make 500 passes per game. We stopped them from doing that.

“Our discipline and positioning was great and we pinched it back on a number of occasions.”

Despite Saturday’s impressive display, Norwich are still tenth in the Championship table, trailing sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday by nine-points.

With just five fixtures of the season remaining, it is highly unlikely Irvine’s side will make a late push for the Play-Offs, but with upcoming fixtures against Fulham, Preston North End, Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds United, Norwich will be looking to add to the pressure on the teams above them in the table.

Norwich fans… Just how impressive was Saturday’s performance? Let us know in the comments!