CHRIS WISE Paul McVeigh will be staying with Norwich City for another season. McVeigh's current contract was due to run out at the end of the current campaign but Canaries always held an option to extend it for a further year.

CHRIS WISE

Popular midfielder Paul McVeigh will be staying with Norwich City for another season, the club confirmed yesterday.

McVeigh's current contract was due to run out at the end of the current campaign but Canaries always held an option to extend it for a further year.

And following an improved run of form from the diminutive Irishman, which saw him score six goals in eight appearances either side of Christmas, that's exactly what they have chosen to do.

“I am delighted that Paul now has a further 12 months to run on his contract,” said manager Nigel Worthington after securing his services until June 2007. “Hopefully he can continue the good form he has already shown this season.”

Yesterday's announcement marks a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of a player who appeared to be on his way out of Carrow Road this time last year.

McVeigh only made three starts for the club in the Premiership, and Worthington made him available for transfer at the end of a bitterly disappointing season. But a move away from Norwich never materialised and after a lengthy period in the reserves he eventually fought his way back into starting line-up.

McVeigh was given a run of six straight games in the autumn, and scored in a 3-1 win at Brighton, but he failed to show the level of consistency demanded by his manager and then spent another frustrating spell on the sidelines before making a stunning comeback in the away game at Crewe just before Christmas.

An under-pressure City side looked to be heading for another depressing defeat when they conceded early in that game and were still behind midway through the second half. But substitute McVeigh promptly scored twice in 20 minutes to earn his manager an absolutely vital victory - and then went on to score four more goals as City ended the year on a winning note.

That impressive run promoted the chant 'We love you Paul McVeigh' to ring out around Carrow Road again - and members of the versatile midfielder's fan club were less than impressed when he lost his place in the side again after the home defeat against Ipswich on February 5.

But after four games on the bench McVeigh was recalled to the starting line-up against Stoke on Saturday, and again proved his worth to the side as he set up both Norwich goals in a 2-1 victory, with Jonatan Johansson profiting from a wonderful slide-rule pass to net a dramatic 89th minute winner.

McVeigh is currently City's third longest serving player behind Craig Fleming and Robert Green, having joined the club on a free transfer from Spurs in March 2000. Since being snapped up by Brian Hamilton he has made 206 appearances for the club, 55 of which have been as a substitute, and scored 39 goals. His record this season reads 34 appearances, 14 of which have been from the bench, and seven goals.

While one player is staying put at Carrow Road, another is on his way out with Jason Jarrett having completed his loan switch to Preston yesterday. The former Wigan midfielder, who made 15 appearances for the Canaries without hitting the back of the net, will join the Lancashire outfit on a permanent basis during the summer if everything goes to plan.