Dean Smith is not conflicted by Norwich City’s Championship opening, and is warning opponents should be running scared of his Canaries.

Norwich resume their league push at Blackpool second in the table on Saturday, and tracking on a two-point-per-game trajectory seen as a benchmark for Premier League promotion.

But testing recent Carrow Road duels against Bristol City and West Brom left some concerned about fitful performances.

Smith shares no such fears.

“No, not really, I think if I'm an opposition team I'd be scared that if we do hit it, you could get battered,” he said. “Listen, there's always elements that you can work on. Teams are trying to stop you playing as well. Good teams at that, with good coaches. So we have to come up with solutions to it.

“Yes, sometimes performances haven't been where we wanted them to be. But sometimes we've been unplayable. We just need to put it all together over 90 minutes. I don't think at any level, even a Manchester City or Liverpool, are going to dominate a full game.

“We went to Liverpool last season and there were periods in that game where we had opportunities against them. That's no different at this level. I'm not saying we're a Liverpool or a Manchester City, but in the Championship that's what some teams will see your as.

"The opposition are going to try and cause you problems at times, and if you give super soft goals away, like we did against West Brom, it enables them to bank up and try to counter.”