David Cuffley Alan Gow has made no secret of his preferred position as he bids to get among the goals with Norwich City.The 26-year-old Scot, on loan from Rangers until the end of the season, was hoping for his first start today after two substitute appearances for the Canaries.

David Cuffley

Alan Gow has made no secret of his preferred position as he bids to get among the goals with Norwich City.

The 26-year-old Scot, on loan from Rangers until the end of the season, was hoping for his first start today after two substitute appearances for the Canaries. And before travelling to Preston for this afternoon's Championship encounter, the versatile forward admitted he wanted to be seen as a striker.

“I prefer playing just as a striker,” he said. “I'll play with anybody, but Carl Cort's done great. I think the boys had said he'd been injured, so he's come in and done really well, and scored against his old club the other night.”

Blackpool used Gow as an out-and-out front player when he scored five times in 17 appearances during a loan spell earlier this season and, after brief outings for City at Wolves and against Bristol City, he's keen to get off the mark once again. Gow had been expected to join the Canaries in the summer after talks with former boss Glenn Roeder, but would not disclose why the deal fell through, or whether a permanent deal might be revived.

He said: “I came quite close. It just fell through for different reasons. Obviously I came for talks, but they never worked out at that time, so I'm just glad to be here just now. I'm enjoying it. I've spoken to the manager a few times, so I was looking forward to coming down and it's a good club and a big club in the Championship, so I'm looking forward to playing.

“I know the Scottish boys, I know Simon Lappin quite well, but apart from that, I just thought I'd just give it bash. I've just come down here on loan to help the club and the club helps me with getting me games, and we'll see what happens.”

Gow offered no magic solution to City's current struggle against relegation from the Championship. He said: “There are a lot of quality players here but results determine where you are, so we have to start winning games quickly and we need to keep winning games. It's as simple as that.”

After playing for Blackpool, he was expecting a tough reception from their local rivals, Preston, this afternoon. “I'll probably get booed. I think I get booed at a few grounds in this league already, so I must be doing something right if people know who I am,” he said.