David Cuffley Midfielder David Fox insists Norwich City must not be fooled by a gap of two divisions between tonight's Carling Cup opponents Gillingham. The Canaries, newly restored to Championship status, go into first round action at Carrow Road (7.45pm) against a team now plying their trade in League Two.

David Cuffley

Midfielder David Fox insists Norwich City must not be fooled by a gap of two divisions between tonight's Carling Cup opponents Gillingham.

The Canaries, newly restored to Championship status, go into first round action at Carrow Road (7.45pm) against a team now plying their trade in League Two.

But the two sides were in the same division just three months ago, and Fox believes that should be warning enough against any complacency on the part of Paul Lambert's men.

The 26-year-old faced the Gills twice last season as a Colchester player, while City had three close-fought meetings with the Kent outfit.

Said Fox: “They were in the same league as us last year, although we went up and they've gone down. It was only a few months ago we were on a level playing field.

“I'm sure it will be a very tough game so they will thrive on coming to Carrow Road and will want to put on a performance and cause an upset.

“So we have to be on top of our game. It proved that in pre-season games.”

City failed to score in three pre-season matches against lower division opponents in Stevenage, Dagenham & Redbridge and Lincoln City.

“We were playing a few teams lower down than us and there are some good teams down there, so it will be very difficult,” said Fox.

The one-time Manchester United trainee was one of six City debutants in the Championship opener against Watford, but said the 3-2 defeat was down to their poor start rather than any unfamiliarity among the players.

He said: “I don't know the reasons why but we definitely didn't start properly and we didn't start as we should have done. We should have come flying out of the blocks but it didn't happen.

“I think you have to give Watford credit and then figure out why we didn't do it ourselves. We went through it on Sunday and I hope we put things right for tonight and start the game properly and not on the back foot.

“When you look at a few results and a few teams who were beaten at home I think that just goes to show what an open league this will be. There's not a lot for us to fear. If we get things right I think we'll do OK. We need to get that win under our belts but need to cut out the errors and mistakes from Friday. I think before the game we were starting to get an understanding. We've been together now for a month and a half so I wouldn't put it down to a lack of understanding on Friday. It wasn't the case at all. We had enough knowledge of each other to get a win but it wasn't to be.”