Dean Smith wants Norwich City’s 'yellow army' in full cry for an early Championship promotion shoot out at Reading on Tuesday night.

Smith ranked the noise and backing from the away support at Blackpool as the best of his tenure in the weekend’s 1-0 league win.

Another 1,800 strong contingent will be in attendance in Berkshire, and the City chief expects a stiff test against a Royals’ outfit one place and two points below them.

“As loud as I have heard them, and the best I have seen them," said Smith. “It was a long way to travel but they could see the fighting spirit from the players, and that is what they want.

"The winning mentality is so important and you saw that at the end when they were putting balls into our box. Our fans were brilliant.

"These are big moments already within the season. The last time we were in the Championship for the most part there were no fans here to cheer us on. I have spoken before about the atmosphere that can be created, and it really does make a difference.”

Norwich’s battle-hardened core of Tim Krul, captain Grant Hanley, Kenny McLean and Teemu Pukki are hunting a third consecutive Championship promotion, and Smith has praised how his key quartet have stood up in the opening months.

“You’ve just named four players with a hell of a lot of experience in this league at this football club,” he said. “They know about being successful. They know how to problem solve on the pitch, and they also can aid the others to become better leaders and better players as well when they do face adversity.”

A trip to Reading presents the first of three away league meetings this month with teams currently sharing the top four with the Canaries.

“We are still looking to click into gear and you have got to find solutions to beat teams," said Smith. "There is a way we want to play but there are teams trying to stop us. I want us to be better on the ball but winning games is not a bad habit.

"(At Blackpool) We were too passive and never got close enough to them in that first 20 minutes.

“With the experience that myself and Craig (Shakespeare) have got if there's something that is glaringly obvious, tactically, then we change it, straightaway. But you also encourage the players to learn the soft skills and understand what they can do on the pitch to change things as well.

"The game hasn't changed, you know, it still needs people to make decisions out there and you need other people to help at the side of the pitch. We give them scenarios all the time, and we want them to come up with solutions.

"Andrew (Omombamidele) can only be as good on the ball as the options he's got in front of it. The players have to understand the joined up nature of what we want to do, and it's making those connections work."