Norwich City manager Alex Neil has insisted that he knows how important this afternoon's East Anglian derby against Ipswich Town is to the club's supporters.
With just a point separating the pair in the Championship promotion race, today's game is being billed as the biggest derby between the pair for over 10 years.
Neil is in just his second month as Norwich manager, but is hoping to draw on his experience of the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers when what is now known as the 'Old Farm' derby takes place at Carrow Road.
"We're the home team and we'll go and try to take the game to them," Neil told the club website. "For the fans it's about bragging rights and local pride but for me it's another opportunity for us to go above another team and hopefully close that gap [to the promotion places].
"It's the biggest local derby in quite a while because of the significance of the game and the fact that if we win, we can go above them. I'm sure they'll be approaching it in the same manner, so we've got to make sure we're right up for it, and we'll be fully prepared for the match.
"I was brought up in Glasgow, where derbies are of course a big thing. I'm fully aware of what a derby means and we'll be ready to go, and I'm really looking forward to it."
Norwich have won five games in a row and will go above Ipswich and up to third place with victory.
Join us for live text coverage of the game on Sports Mole from 1.30pm.
Pascal Lemesre
