Dean Smith is ‘proud’ of how Norwich City have attacked the Championship.

City return to league action, after the international period, at Blackpool on Saturday looking to build on a solid start and 20 points from the opening 10 games.

That marks quite the turnaround for Smith from an abject Premier League relegation.

"I'm really proud of the lads, to be honest, because we took a battering last year,” he said. “It was tough, the Premier League was tough. And they've turned around their mentality really quickly to become a winning team again in the Championship. It is a transition from last season.

“It does need a shift in mindset because a lot of the players who are here have been used to that in the Championship before. Those who got promoted and won the league two years ago would have had to deal with the type of games where they know they will have an awful lot of possession.”

City laboured to a 1-1 draw against West Brom prior to the international pause that Smith attributed in part to a gruelling schedule. The Canaries’ head coach had some time out himself over the past fortnight to prepare for an eight game burst in 28 days.

“I had three days off after the West Brom game, and then got back to it,” he said. “The lads who've stayed behind at Colney worked really well, to be honest. I've always had this thing about calling it an international period and not a break. Because the ones who were actually going off and representing their countries aren't having a break. They're working hard.”