Norwich City will ignore their critics and focus on bouncing back from a disappointing week in their pursuit for promotion from the Championship, according to defender Ben Gibson.
The Canaries' defeat to Swansea City has conceded ground in the race for the Premier League, with City's competitors both possessing the chance to leapfrog them providing they can win their game in hand.
Norwich could kick-off their game against Stoke City next weekend sitting in second place if Brentford avoid defeat to Reading in midweek. The Canaries will be boosted by the return of Emi Buendia after he served the second match of his suspension.
Three under par performances in the Championship have seen some express doubts about their promotion credentials, but Gibson believes the next few weeks will be a good test of their resolve as they seek to prove their doubters wrong.
“Now is the time to show some character," Gibson said.
"People will question us after one bad week and three bad games, that’s football. That’s life. We will see what resolve we have in the dressing room and I have no doubt that we will respond as we have done many times already this season.
“We haven’t got too high when everyone has been singing our praises and saying we were going to walk the league, we never believed the hype. We won’t believe the critics now we’ve had a bad week. Let’s not get too carried away after one bad week with one really bad result and two nil-nils against two tough sides.
“It’s not great but it’s not the end of the world. We’ll see the resolve now, we’ll see the character and how good we really are. I still fancy us more than ever. We have a brilliant group of lads with an excellent character and I credit their attitude and resolve, they never stopped trying or working. On another day we might have got a goal or two.
“For all of our football and everything we have been doing really well, it’s about pulling people out of the mire. We haven’t done that tonight. That is no reflection on Tim. I’ve got to be tighter on Ayew and make sure I block him. I’ve got to be better, I didn’t play well enough, we didn’t play well enough as a team.
“No shirking away from it, but we’ll bounce back I’ve got no doubt.”
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