Darren Huckerby - Norwich City boss Paul Lambert deserves award

Norwich City legend Darren Huckerby insists Canaries chief Paul Lambert deserves to be in the running for the manager-of-the-year award.

The Hall of Famer believes Lambert’s success in guiding the Canaries to the brink of Premier League safety ahead of this weekend’s trip to Blackburn ranks him alongside the biggest managerial names in the business.

Lambert was previously recognised by his peers for leading Norwich to back-to-back promotions from the Football League and Huckerby would not rule out the Scot completing a memorable personal hat-trick.

He said: “It has been amazing and when you look at it over the course of a season then Paul Lambert has to be the manager-of-the-year. We have given a good account of ourselves in every single game, possibly apart from the Manchester City one, but that was more to do with City’s firepower than our team to be honest.

“If you look at the side I played in at Norwich, there is definitely more of a team ethic. Lambert has built a team that want to play football but they are also hard to beat and in this present day and age he has done a great job.

“He looks destined for great things, so you just hope from a Norwich perspective they can keep him as long as they can.”

Huckerby also added his voice to the growing calls for Norwich captain Grant Holt to get his opportunity on the international stage with England.

He said: “I think he deserves some kind of chance. If you score 13 Premier League goals it means you have had a great season.

“I am not saying I would pick him and put him straight in to play, but he deserves a chance to prove himself in the squad.

“Whether he deserves to play week in, week out at that level is for others, but he certainly deserves some kind of recognition.”

Huckerby – speaking to Talksport – admitted the Canaries had been no match for another of his former clubs at the weekend with Roberto Mancini’s star-studded squad powering to a 6-1 Carrow Road win.

The 35-year-old won the old First Division title at both Norwich and Manchester City during his playing career, but conceded Mancini now has an embarrassment of riches compared to his time in the north-west.

He said: “It’s a completely different club. When I was there we were building to get it towards what it is now. It is a different animal now altogether.

“(Carlos) Tevez is a very good player, but his attitude earlier in the season let the fans down.

“(Edin) Dzeko didn’t even make it on the pitch at the weekend and they still scored six goals. That just shows you what they have.”