Norwich City’s early teething troubles were to be expected, insists experienced midfielder Steven Naismith.

The Scottish international returned after suspension for the 3-1 Championship home defeat to Sunderland that exposed the Canaries’ defensive vulnerability.

Daniel Farke’s side were unable to convert their superiority in possession against the Black Cats, to follow up a hard-fought point at Fulham and a League Cup win over Swindon.

City have a swift chance to set the record straight on Wednesday against a QPR who arrive at Carrow Road unbeaten this season.

“Pre-season probably went too well in some respects, going through unbeaten,” said Naismith, speaking prior to the Sunderland setback. “There were some iffy parts of games but we came through them. There is nothing like the test you get in the league. From a team like Fulham, who want to dominate the ball and play through you, to the more direct sides. There will be patchy times when we get caught out. That is going to be something we have to expect to an extent and deal with it. We can’t have a bad performance and talk about what went wrong and lose all confidence. We have to learn from mistakes. Without a doubt it will take time. With any new manager there is a period where you have to grasp what the new man wants.”

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Nasimith is now one of the senior figures in the Norwich dressing room, and the 30-year-old is convinced the likes of James Maddison and Harrison Reed will blossom this season.

“Harrison has come in and I have played against him for a few years. He is not the tallest in stature but he makes his presence felt with his enthusiasm and aggression but when he gets on the ball he has that calmness,” said Naismith. “Madders has a lot of ability. He is one of those who will catch the eye but it is all the other stuff he perhaps needs to pick up, like where on the park to do his good pieces of work. With most young players it is the decision-making. I found that when I was younger, but he is a match-winner, the same as Josh Murphy. Jamal Lewis was probably the best youngster through pre-season and it is excellent for the club to have this core of youngsters. They just have to work as hard as they can.”