Nigel Worthington said a whole army of defenders would not have stopped his on-song Canaries taking three points at Carrow Road. The City boss said he had told his players patience would be a virtue against Preston - and it eventually paid off with a 2-0 win.

Manager Nigel Worthington said a whole army of defenders would not have stopped his on-song Canaries taking three points at Carrow Road last night.

The City boss said he had told his players patience would be a virtue against Preston - and it eventually paid off with a 2-0 win.

“The words we used to the players at the start and half time were 'Be patient' because Preston had come to get people behind the ball and try to frustrate. But the way we were passing the ball there could have been an army back there tonight and we still would have got through.

“We stuck at it, we were patient in our passing and eventually the goal came. I am always saying to the players 'If you don't shoot you won't score', and we've had a shot tonight which has come off one of them and got us on the road.

“The second goal shows the sign of a great striker. It wasn't even a chance, it was half a chance and that's why Robert Earnshaw will do very well for us and in this league.”

He added: “I said to the players I wanted more after Saturday. I wanted us to up the tempo, go and pass the ball a bit more, be more ruthless in our approach. When you see Huckerby and Earnshaw tackling back after 85 minutes, I think that says something.”

Preston boss Paul Simpson had sympathy for defender Sean St Ledger, whose own goal broke the deadlock, and skipper Graham Alexander, shown the red card after 90 minutes for a foul on opposing captain Adam Drury.

Of the own goal, he said: “It was one of them freaky things where he had nobody else around him and he slashed at it to clear it. I feel for him a little bit because I thought he was superb tonight.

“The goal knocked the stuffing right out of us and the second goal totally killed it for us. We were playing against a very good side tonight.”

Of the sending-off, he said: “I thought it was harsh, though I'm making the judgment from sitting in the dug-out. I felt it was a yellow card. I didn't really feel it was a red card. You see challenges go in like that in 99 per cent of football matches and you see a yellow card.”