Chris Lakey Canaries legend Mark Bowen says a combination of the Glenn Roeder effect and the draw of Carrow Road made it inevitable that in-demand striker Maceo Rigters would choose to spend the rest of the season at Norwich City.

Chris Lakey

Canaries legend Mark Bowen says a combination of the Glenn Roeder effect and the draw of Carrow Road made it inevitable that in-demand striker Maceo Rigters would choose to spend the rest of the season at Norwich City.

Bowen - assistant to Blackburn manager Mark Hughes - spent nine years playing for City and says it's the perfect stage for the Dutch Under-21 international to improve his game.

“It's going to be great for him,” said Bowen. “There were maybe six, seven, eight clubs who all wanted to take Maceo on loan.

“I spoke to Mark and we agreed that it would have to be Norwich. They play the right sort of football, they have Glenn Roeder as manager, the club has great training facilities and the ground, of course, has a terrific atmosphere. It's second to none so it was an easy decision.”

Roeder has an impressive track record when it comes to bringing in loan players and, as promised, has used his contacts within Premiership circles to secure a player he believes will get the goals that will move City away from the danger zone at the bottom end of the Championship.

It's a pedigree that Bowen was quick to praise.

“Of course we take that into account,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for Glenn Roeder and what he has done in the game and I know that everything will be fantastic for Maceo at Norwich.”

Rigters, 24, has struggled to break into the Blackburn first team since his arrival on a four-year deal last July, and Bowen, who made 399 appearances in nine years at City, said he had jumped at the chance to move to Norwich.

“He was just about out of the door and on his way as soon as we told him,” said Bowen. “He's had a little bit of a difficult time since we signed him. He was a young lad who had impressed in the Under-21 Championship and he was still learning. He had all the plaudits from that last summer, but you have to remember he was still a youngster and he has come into a situation where we have a lot of competition for places up front - there's Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz and Matt Derbyshire in front of him and he has found it hard.

“He came into a big Premier League club and his chances have been limited. He played him in the FA Cup against Coventry and he was let down by his team-mates that day and must have left the field wondering what was happening.

“But he scores regularly for the reserves and he always trains with the first team, but for a club of our stature, we need him to go out and play regular football and score goals and then come back to us and obviously have the confidence - that is what is in our best interests. He is an important member of our squad.”

So what are City getting?

“He is a quiet lad,” said Bowen. “He just goes about his business - he's not one of those who is always laughing and joking in the dressing room. He just works hard.

“He has decent technique - certainly, if the supply line is good then he has the ability to bury chances. He has got the ammunition.”