Canaries youngster Andrew Cave-Brown says he is ready to accept the challenge should he fall down the pecking order at Carrow Road this summer.

By CHRIS LAKEY

Canaries youngster Andrew Cave-Brown says he is ready to accept the challenge should he fall down the pecking order at Carrow Road this summer.

The 18-year-old right back has a busy close-season schedule, playing for Scotland in their Uefa Under-19s qualifiers this week, and then aiming for selection for the Under-20s World Cup in Canada in July - a commitment than could overlap City's pre-season schedule should Tommy Wilson's side progress to the play-offs.

However, it's his return to Carrow Road next season that poses the biggest question for the affable Cave-Brown, who could find himself with even more competition for the problematic right back should manager Peter Grant land target John Otsemobor.

But Cave-Brown is happy to turn a negative into a positive.

“I've read the stories but it doesn't really worry me because he is a good player, he's well known and has a good pedigree and if he does come to Norwich it gives me more incentive to work hard,” said Cave-Brown. “If any player of that quality comes in then I can learn from him.

“I am 18, I'll be 19 at the start of next season so I believe I am in a position to take things from people like that. It should make me a better player and it should give me the incentive to do better.”

Cave-Brown captained Scotland to the final the European Under-19 championship last July, but his hopes of breaking into City's first team squad were ruined when he was stretchered off with ankle ligament damage less than half an hour into his first senior start, the Carling Cup win at Torquay in August.

His rehabilitation was a two-month loan spell at King's Lynn, but while fellow loanee Andrew Fisk was released by City in the summer, Cave-Brown was given another year on his contract.

However, he is prepared to spend time away on loan, hoping to benefit in the same way as Rossi Jarvis did at Torquay and then Rotherham.

“Hopefully if that happens it would be a league club this time,” he said. “King's Lynn was good and was beneficial to me, but Rossi went to a league club and really benefited.

“We have to wait and see because we don't know who the gaffer is going to bring in, but if I am surplus to requirements, as it were, then he might put me out on loan and that would help me.”

The advantage Cave-Brown has over his team-mates is that there is little chance of him lacking match sharpness when the season starts.

The Gravesend born defender played the full 90 minutes of the Under-19s opening qualifier against Turkey on Wednesday night and was ready to go again last night, when the Scots travelled from Dundee to Perth to face Georgia. The qualifiers end on Monday, against Portugal - and then Cave-Brown will be hoping he has done enough to retain his place in the Under-20s squad for the trip to Canada.

The Scots play Japan, Nigeria and Costa Rica in the first week of July, hoping to make the final on July 23 - an eventuality which would rule him out of at least five of City's opening six pre-season matches.

“It could be a busy few days,” Cave-Brown said. “A few of us might have to play all three games in the qualifiers because of injuries, but that's the way it is for everyone and we have no complaints, you just want to play when you can.

“The squad for Canada hasn't been announced yet but I have been in the team for the best part of the season and hopefully I am in with a shout.

“The Under-20s have a training camp this week which I am obviously missing but I hope to put in performances which will be good enough to earn me my place.

“It is a little bit hectic but I am fully fit now, I have the training programme that the staff at Colney have given me - and I even have a couple of weeks off soon.

“I need to be fit for the World Cup, but the most important thing is to get back to Norwich and concentrate on playing well and putting in good performances in pre-season and getting the gaffer's attention - and then seeing what happens.”