Daniel Farke is warning Norwich City’s Championship rivals they are relishing leading from the front after digging deep to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on Wednesday night at Carrow Road.

The Canaries moved three points clear of second-placed Bournemouth with Emi Buendia’s deflected finish sealing another hard-fought victory in front of 2,000 home fans.

“Probably one of the proudest moments of the season so far for me,” said Farke. “To win this game feels massive and important for us. I am pretty happy. We have to deliver every three days and we are doing it without so many key players. Plus every opponent seems to raise their game and play as if they have nothing to lose.

“If I am honest I am not spending much attention on where we are in the table. But what I do spend a lot of attention on is how many points we have on the board already. Our point average is fantastic.

"It gives us a bit of a comfort zone and we have players coming back.

"We have some tough away games but to have this cushion is excellent. If we have a bad day or a poor result we are still in a good position. That gives us so much confidence.”

Todd Cantwell marked his return from a hip issue with the assist for Buendia, while Kieran Dowell, Kenny McLean and Jordan Hugill were all deemed fit for duty.

“To bring in Kieran after three months out and one training session is a bit of a joke,” said Farke. “We had four lads on the bench who only had one training session.

"But I got the feeling those lads who have been playing needed a bit of a lift, and it helped the spirit because they have had to play so many minutes.

“The doctors and physios recommended Jordan Hugill be out for a few more days. But we wanted them in the dressing room. It says a lot about our team.

"We played a fantastic first half, maybe lacked a bit of a cutting edge, and in the second half we lost control of the game and had to defend. If you are not fully switched on you can concede. It seemed like the momentum was on their side. But we dug in.

“I know the goal we won the game took a deflection but we had something like 25 passes in this move before Todd Cantwell’s assist. Fortune favours the brave. If you have the quality you get these moments. But then we had to dig in because the tank was empty.”