Simeon Jackson dedicated City’s stunning 5-1 Portman Road derby demolition to the fans after completing an East Anglian double to move within touching distance of the Premier League.

Jackson slotted his fifth goal in the past four games to help move Paul Lambert’s men back into an automatic promotion spot after an emphatic display against the Tractor Boys. Norwich also secured their place in at least the play-offs with last night’s derby destruction of their cross-border rivals – and heaped the pressure back on Cardiff who must beat leaders QPR tomorrow to wrestle back the initiative in the race for second spot.

Should the Bluebirds fail to win against title-chasing Rangers, City will go up if they win their three remaining league games – starting with Derby’s Bank Holiday Monday visit to Carrow Road.

Jackson said: “It was an outstanding result for us and I hope the fans remember this night for a long time. We went over to clap them at the end and that is what it’s all about. You live for these type of games. The fans have been magnificent all season and to do it for them was unreal. Of course it was good to get one over your rivals but in terms of promotion it was important to get a result on the board before the rest played. It shows how good we are that in a derby we could come out and play like that and get that sort of performance. We’ve said all along we have a resilience and we score goals. We just need to do it for the final three games now.”

Jackson is delighted to be repaying Lambert’s faith over the tense promotion run-in after his big-money close-season move from Gillingham.

He said: “For me it’s always great to score goals. That is what I came here to do and for it to be in front of our own fans was even better. It was about the result, not me scoring, but to get five is unreal. All the lads will tell you it is brilliant to play in this team, but as a striker you know even away from home that we will create chances, we keep the ball and we pass it well. It’s easy to be a striker in this side.”

Jackson insists the Canaries have to retain a ruthless streak to last the distance better than their direct promotion rivals over the closing weeks.

He said: “I’m sure this result will make the others sit up but we are just taking it one game at a time. I’m not really fussed about what anyone else is doing. We just have to keep going for these next three games. I want to be playing and so it’s great to have this run in the side. Hopefully I’ll play Monday and before you know it the season will be over.”