David Cuffley Norwich City manager Glenn Roeder today said he was “100 per cent” sure the club and its players were innocent of any match-fixing.His comments followed the FA's confirmation that they are investigating an allegation regarding the Canaries' home game against Derby on October 4 after reports of irregular betting patterns.

David Cuffley

Norwich City manager Glenn Roeder today said he was “100 per cent” sure the club and its players were innocent of any match-fixing.

His comments followed the FA's confirmation that they are investigating an allegation regarding the Canaries' home game against Derby on October 4 after reports of irregular betting patterns.

He said this morning: “I don't know the exact details of what's been said and the accusations being made about that particular game but I would be 100 per cent certain there is no one at Norwich City that's involved in anything at all.”

He said he did not think the publicity had affected his players ahead of tomorrow's game at Bristol City.

He said: “The boys were off yesterday. Knowing how tough they are as people I wouldn't think it would worry them at all.”

Asked whether MPs were right to have gone public on the issue by raising it in the House of Commons, Roeder said: “I don't know enough about how it became public. In life, people have to do what they think is right. Whether it is right or wrong is for other people to decide.

“I also believe that too many people publicly state their own opinions when they should keep their own counsel. So when I find out exactly how this has all broken and caused an irritation, I'll decide whether I want to say anything publicly or keep my own counsel.

“Anything like this is not good for the game, not good for any sport. It's only the week before that there were accusations that a snooker player had lost 5-0 and there were funny betting patterns on that result. If professional sport isn't clean, what is the point of being involved in it? But it's certainly unsavoury and not welcome anywhere in any sport.”

On-loan striker Leroy Lita, who made his City debut in the 2-1 defeat by Derby, said: “If anyone thinks we tried to lose that game, they're silly. All the lads were disappointed in the changing rooms. It's not even an issue. We don't need to get into it because it's a load of nonsense.”