Ben Godfrey has hailed the Daniel Farke effect – and how it’s fuelling Norwich City’s stunning promotion charge.
The Canaries made it six wins in eight games with a 3-1 win at Millwall on Saturday, ensuring they will head into the final 11 fixtures of the season with a two-point lead at the Championship summit – starting with Swansea’s visit to Carrow Road on Friday (7.45pm).
A season of remarkable consistency has been emphasised by the emergence of numerous players that have swapped the squad fringes to front of stage, and such reliability has not come by accident.
“It’s why it is so special,” said Godfrey, who made his first league start of the season at home to Bolton at the start of December – and has played every minute of City’s Championship campaign since.
“The boss is unbelievable to work under because you know that he is fair and when you get your chance, if you take it he will trust you.
“That gives you such a great feeling. He won’t put any pressure on you and you feel like you can just enjoy your football under him, which I think you can see with all of us young boys. That is massive and credit to him.
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“I always back myself to be able to play there anyway. As a young lad I’d played at centre-back a couple of times and I know everyone associated me with holding midfield, so it was a bit different for everyone else to see – but I had no doubt.
“Obviously there are things I can learn, as there would be anywhere on the pitch because of my age and experience. I’m settling into it nicely but I never doubted myself.
“I’ve got a job to do and obviously in personal terms I’m loving it, I’m learning every day and I’ve got people like Timm (Klose), Grant (Hanley) and Zimbo (Christoph Zimmermann) around me who are unbelievable guys – and Tim (Krul) – with their experience. The things they teach me on a daily basis, it’s unbelievable and I use it on a game day.
“I’m absolutely loving it. I’ve been really fortunate to get my chance and I’ve experienced some unbelievable things, to be fair.
“We know the size of the reward and things like that, but you can’t think about that. You’ve just got to give 110pc, which you can guarantee from myself and the rest of the lads.
“It’s been a great year so far but it’s far from over and there are plenty of up and downs to come. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
While the indications are more a case of when rather than if, Farke is still officially set to be out of contract come the summer – although Godfrey has resisted the urge to have a word in the ear of his boss.
“That’s his business – it’s none of mine,” laughed Godfrey. “We just have to focus on getting three points every weekend.”
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