CHRIS WISE Derby County caretaker manager Terry Westley believes the Canaries have got what it takes to mount a late challenge for the play-offs.

CHRIS WISE

Derby County caretaker manager Terry Westley believes the Canaries have got what it takes to mount a late challenge for the play-offs.

The one-time Diss Town boss made an unhappy return to East Anglian at the weekend when his side were well beaten by a Norwich outfit who finally appear to be finding a bit of form as a troubled season enters its closing stages.

A poor start to the campaign has left City well off the promotion pace with 11 games left to play, but Westley believes they are still a threat to the teams above them - and wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if they managed to haul themselves back into contention over the next couple of months.

“I tipped Norwich to go up at the start of the season because of the fire-power they have got in their squad,” he said. “You could see that quality today.

“I was very impressed with them and it surprises me that they are not a lot higher up in the table. But I'm not ruling them out of the promotion race just yet and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they went on a run of seven straight wins, or something like that, to push themselves right back into it. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens between now and the end of the season.”

Westley admitted that the Rams got exactly what they deserved at Carrow Road, even though they might well have emerged with something from the game had Adam Bolder converted an excellent chance when the score was just 1-0.

“I can't argue with the result,” he said. “They were clearly the better side on the day and deserved to win.

“We improved as the game went on and if Adam had scored from a great opportunity the game could have been turned on its head. Norwich were only 1-0 up at the time and looking nervous, with some fans getting on their backs. But ultimately we did not have enough quality in the final third.”

Westley will be attempting to rectify that situation today by following the example of Nigel Worthington and signing Charlton striker Kevin Lisbie on loan.

“I know Kevin well and he certainly has the quality to score goals at this level,” he said. “He knows that if wants a career in the Premiership he would benefit from a loan spell at a Championship club. He spent some time at Norwich earlier in the season and they wanted to keep hold of him but he returned to Charlton because of their injury situation.

“We can't escape the fact that we are desperate for a striker and we'll see what can be done this week. I understand other clubs are interested in Kevin but hopefully he will decide to join us.”