Doherty happy to play waiting game

Gary Doherty says he wants Norwich to take up the extra one-year option on his contract next summer - but says talks with boss Paul Lambert are the last thing on his mind.

Gary Doherty says he wants Norwich to take up the extra one-year option on his contract next summer - but says talks with boss Paul Lambert are the last thing on his mind.

Lambert has already spoken to young striker Chris Martin, whose contract also expires soon, but while there has been speculation linking the 22-year-old with a move to a Championship club, the City boss insists the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

“I have spoken to him not that long ago - he knows the situation and so do I,” he said.

“He is not one of these lads who sits and worries about it, I don't think, and to be fair his performances have been excellent since I've been here.

“I have spoken to Chrissy and a few of the other lads and as I said before he is one of the best finishers I have seen in a long time, with both feet as well.

“I know he is only 21, he went on loan to Luton, but he has come back here and grasped it really quickly the way he's played and every time he gets the ball I think he can score. If you have lads that can score goals you have got a chance.

“It is true that sometimes the grass isn't greener - you can toss a coin if a move is going to work for you or it's not going to work for you, but this place has got everything.

“Alright, it is well documented about the finances of it, but there are not many places that get nearly 26,000 every week.”

Doherty is happy to wait for a resolution to his situation, having started the season under Bryan Gunn, been told he could leave by Lambert but then grabbing an offer to prove himself with both hands.

“Of course I want to stay, I definitely want to stay, but that's neither here or there,” said Doherty. “It couldn't be further from my mind at the minute. All I am thinking about is three points on Saturday because we are in a terrific run and we want to keep it going.

“We don't want to let our foot off the gas really, we need to keep the pressure on Leeds, keep the pressure on Charlton and keep the pressure on Colchester and obviously there is not a better time to do it than on Saturday.”

Lambert allowed defender Jon Otsemobor, whose contract also expired in the summer, to leave for Southampton on a free transfer this week - and admitted the sums added up.

“I spoke to him a while back and he was great,” said Lambert. “He was great about the place and never one bit of a problem, but I understood that he was out of contract and he wanted to play and I couldn't guarantee anything, but he did great for me if the truth be known - and there was a wee bit of finance you have to look at as well.”