DAVID CUFFLEY Skipper Adam Drury is determined that Norwich City's East Anglian derby defeat will not be allowed to ruin their season.

DAVID CUFFLEY

Skipper Adam Drury is determined that Norwich City's East Anglian derby defeat will not be allowed to ruin their season.

The Canaries' 3-1 reverse at the hands of Ipswich Town last Sunday was, he accepts, a bitterly disappointing experience for players and fans alike.

The result also wrecked City's chances of moving into seventh place in the Coca-Cola Championship table, on the fringe of the play-off places.

But Drury, one of the better performers at Portman Road, wants the match consigned to history - at least in the players' minds.

With Phil Parkinson's Hull City providing the opposition for tomorrow's Championship match at Carrow Road (3pm), the 28-year-old full-back insisted: “We've got to wipe Sunday out of our minds because we're all disappointed with how that went.

“There was a massive disappointment straight afterwards, but if we dwell on it too long it'll end up ruining our season and we've got to turn things round and get ourselves up the table. We've got to bounce back straightaway.

"Sunday's gone now, so I'm not going to carry on talking about it."

With nine games coming up in just over five weeks, it's potentially a make-or-break period in City's season - with no additional loan signings brought in before yesterday's deadline to lighten the load for an injury-hit squad.

"It's going to be a tough schedule for us but we've got a decent set of lads here and a decent squad. We've just got to make sure if we do get injuries, lads are ready to come in and replace them," said Drury.

Asked about the prospect of taking on Hull's Dean Marney, a team-mate during his loan spell with Norwich last season, Drury said: "He's going to be a player to watch out for but it's all about what we do. We won't know until Saturday who plays for them but it doesn't matter too much about Hull. We've got to concentrate on what we do."

Drury has shrugged off the bug that troubled him earlier in the week and is hoping one of his biggest, and youngest, fans will prove a lucky charm again tomorrow - two-month-old son Ethan.

"My wife's come to a couple of games and brought baby Ethan with her. He doesn't really know what's going on, but he's brought us a bit of luck so far, so I hope it continues," he said.

Manager Peter Grant must wait on the fitness of central defender Gary Doherty, yet to train this week because of an ankle injury he suffered at Ipswich, who is rated 50-50. Dion Dublin could return to the back four. New signing Luke Chadwick is sidelined for four to six weeks after a clean-up operation on his gashed knee, but Youssef Safri is fit after a bout of flu'.

With Leicester at Carrow Road on Tuesday, two home games offer City a big chance to make up ground on the leading group, but Grant said: "I'm not concerned whether we're home or away. I feel we can go away from home and win and I believe at home you look to win every game you play.

"We've got an opportunity against a Hull side who have hit a little bit of form. I know they had a bad result at the weekend, but I think they went three games prior to that unbeaten.

"They've got some players coming back. They've lost Jon Parkin but they've got Nicky Forster, who I know from Reading, who's always been a major threat in this division.

"Phil Parkinson was a team-mate of mine at Reading, so I know the one thing he won't accept is anything less than 100 per cent commitment.”

Parkinson has boosted his attack by signing Sheffield United striker Neil Shipperley on loan.