Daniel Farke admits he has been shocked by the ‘incredible’ Norwich City fans.

The Canaries’ head coach takes charge of his maiden Carrow Road game today, in a final pre-season dress rehearsal against Premier League Brighton.

Farke opted to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer to become the club’s first ever overseas managerial appointment, and the 40-year-old has swiftly realised the expectation levels are huge.

“You hear Norwich City and think that is a small club. But the opposite is the case. It’s huge here,” he said. “Everyone wants to have an autograph or a selfie from me, that is incredible. To have 22,000 season tickets is absolutely crazy. It is very, very focused on football in Norwich.

“The fans are extremely open. A German coach who comes from the fourth league to try and lead the club back into the Premier League? I would not have expected that in my life. I could not imagine that at a German club.”

Farke, speaking to daily newspaper Westfälische Rundschau, also outlined why City have targeted the German transfer market this summer to recruit the likes of Christoph Zimmermann, Mario Vrancic and Marcel Franke.

“We had to initiate a major upheaval, lower the wage bill and sell some of the top performers to try and get a transfer surplus. If we succeed, it looks better again for us in the coming years,” he said. “That is why our focus is not on players from the English leagues. You must know where to look for value. You get very good German second-league players at good prices, which are affordable. That’s why we have brought in people like Vrancic or Franke.

“I am very satisfied with the team’s progress. Focusing on dominating the ball and possession is a big change for the guys, but they have done superbly well. I have to say we have very good characters in the team. If you want a short answer, it’s about being dominant. I don’t like my teams just to be compact and to react, I like to act. I like to have the ball – if I could choose I would have the ball for 90 minutes. I want to create chances and dominate games.

“To be successful you have to find a good balance between offence and defence, to work without the ball. It’s important to have a concrete style, and when you watch our games you have to know what our style is.”