City boss Glenn Roeder was today waiting anxiously for news of injured defender John Kennedy. The on-loan Celtic centre-half was helped off with a very sore right ankle after an hour of last night's 1-0 home defeat by Queens Park Rangers.

City boss Glenn Roeder was today waiting anxiously for news of injured defender John Kennedy.

The on-loan Celtic centre-half was helped off with a very sore right ankle after an hour of last night's 1-0 home defeat by Queens Park Rangers.

It makes him a doubtful starter for Saturday's visit of Sheffield United.

Said Roeder: “It doesn't look good at the moment. I don't want to jump to any conclusions either, but his ankle is very sore.”

Kennedy, 25, was arguably the Canaries' best performer before making way for another loan defender in Jonathan Grounds.

“He was the one who did a lot of covering in the first 15 minutes when others looked shaky and he swept up behind them and was doing a brilliant job,” said Roeder. “He didn't deserve to get injured tonight but he has.”

With Scotland boss George Burley watching at Carrow Road, it was a bad night for Kennedy to suffer an injury.

“If George Burley asked my opinion I would say have no hesitation in putting him in your squad. If there are better central defenders in Scotland, I have yet to see one,” said Roeder.

The City boss was less impressed with his team's display, however, and claimed seven or eight players were below par against a Rangers team down to 10 men from the 25th minute onwards.

He said: “They're a physically powerful team, very strong team, but I am disappointed that we didn't play well enough to break them down. The whole of the second half we were camped in their half, but we produced very little in terms of goalscoring opportunities.

“We were too slow in our build-up, not creative enough and we had too many very, very average performances that I wasn't expecting. There were one or two I thought did well, but generally speaking if you are going to win a game of football you need everyone to play well.

“You sometimes can win carrying one or two average performances, but we were looking at seven or eight tonight - and the disappointing thing is that was not expected the way we have been playing of late.

“But we have to be men about it, not boys, and take any criticism that comes our way now on the chin. We have two days now to prepare for a home game against Sheffield United and come out here and give our fans - who were brilliant tonight in terms of the numbers that turn up - a home win.”

He was not over-impressed with his former club, either.

“I don't particularly feel QPR deserved win the game. They didn't do enough to win the game in terms of general play,” said Roeder. “Physically they are very powerful, they defended very well against ourselves who played nowhere near to what we've played this year and in normal circumstances it would probably have been a horrible scrappy 0-0, but we have lost the game.

“We need to learn to take a point or three when we haven't played well. You see teams not play well all the time but they steal three points or nick a point. We don't seem to have that knack of being able to do that.

“I am not here to make excuses, but the old scenario that 11 against 10 is going to be easy is long gone because even when it is 11 against 11 and you are attacking, most teams have two banks of four that you have to break down, eight players behind the ball, and they leave two up.

“When you have a player sent off you can only leave one up, but you still have eight players to play against - the fact they are one down makes no difference whatever. And QPR did that very well, give them credit on that.”