Christoph Zimmermann believes that Dean Smith is leading Norwich City down the correct path as they seek to bounce back from their Premier League relegation.

The German defender is synonymous with Smith's predecessor Daniel Farke who he worked with at Borussia Dortmund II before following him to Norfolk in 2017.

Smith has spoken in glowing terms about the 29-year-old's quality but injuries have hampered his playing time on the pitch this season.

Zimmermann is hoping to regain his fitness ahead of pre-season so he can stake his claim in the Championship.

He believes everyone at Norwich has adapted to the various changes implemented by Smith and assistant Craig Shakespeare, including a tweak to playing style and training schedules.

Smith has a Championship promotion on his CV with Aston Villa, and retains the trust of City's squad that he can navigate them back to the Premier League next season.

Despite having a long association with Farke, Zimmermann is enjoying life under Smith.

"I think it sticks out with me because I've worked for a long time with Daniel Farke. It was six years and he brought me here so I'm always linked to him.

"Dean Smith has been our manager for about six months and it's definitely been a change," City's defender said.

"There have been changes in our training schedule, in the contents of the session and it's a more direct approach to playing that we have chosen. The training week is different and that is something everyone was looking forward to before we knew who was going to be the new manager.

"When Dean Smith took over, everyone was curious as to what a training week was going to look like.

"We didn't have the success we hoped to have but he has proven with Brentford, where he had a very good go in the Championship, and Aston Villa that he is capable to guide a team to promotion.

"That is something that we will all trust him with. Even though it is a change, it's different to the two seasons we got promoted with Daniel Farke, this is a different approach and we know we can do it this way because he's done it before."