Martin keen to prove pundits wrong
Captain Russell Martin has turned a blind eye to predictions Norwich will go straight back down from the Barclays Premier League.
The Norfolk club secured a swift return to the top flight after winning the Sky Bet Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough in May, capping a superb run following the appointment of rookie manager Alex Neil in January.
Norwich were able to retain most of the squad who dropped out of the Premier League in 2014 and since promotion have added the likes of Robbie Brady from Hull, Andre Wisdom on loan from Liverpool and former West Brom midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, although he will miss the start of the season because of a fractured metatarsal.
Scotland defender Martin, who joined in January 2010 and was part of Paul Lambert's side which earned successive promotions up from League One, sees no reason to be anything other than positive about the challenges ahead, with the new campaign kicking off at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
"I could not care less [about the predictions], if I am honest. It is someone's opinion and we will see come the end of the season," said Martin.
"A lot of the pundits commenting have probably not seen much of us play, so we will go and show what we are about to hopefully prove a few people wrong."
Manager Neil is also determined to keep the squad focused on the job in hand.
He said: "I am used to it, the same thing happened to me at Hamilton when I was up there. Eight of out eight [pundits] had us finishing last and we were third at Christmas.
"It is people's opinion but ultimately the proof will be what we can manage to achieve.
"We need to make sure we are competitive in every game and get the best you can from the players, which is all you can ask. I am confident if we do get that then we can have a good season."
Wisdom and Brady are included in the squad but full-back Martin Olsson continues to recover from shoulder surgery while forward Kyle Lafferty (knee) is also not yet fit.
Palace boss Alan Pardew does not believe he needs Fabricio Coloccini because he already has Scott Dann.
Pardew is no longer pursuing Newcastle's Coloccini - after a productive summer he no longer expects to add to his squad - and that is partly because he believes that in Dann, who he feels can play for England, Damien Delaney, Brede Hangeland and Adrian Mariappa his defence is sufficiently strong.
Dann was the subject of interest from Everton earlier in the summer and their manager Roberto Martinez may yet revive that interest if Chelsea, as expected, succeed in signing John Stones.
Coloccini is beyond Pardew's reach, however, having extended his Newcastle contract until 2017 with the option of a further season.
"There's been a lot of talk about us bringing in a centre-back but actually my centre-backs were the strength of the team last year," said Pardew.
"There's a lot of criticisms for various things: they can't do this, they can't do that, they're too slow...
"Scott Dann, for me, is an England international and I think he's going to prove that this year.
"My two centre-halves as a pair, I think are very, very good. Damo's [Delaney] leadership qualities and his natural left foot and his height are massive assets for us.
"In terms of the back-up, [we have] Brede Hangeland and Mariappa, who's been absolutely brilliant in the summer, so I never really thought it was a weakness and I haven't really hunted down a centre-half."
Despite his characteristic confidence about Palace's prospects, Pardew also revealed a recognition Norwich represent a difficult opening league fixture and stressed the importance of his team making a strong start to the coming season.
"It's nice to see them back, to see Delia [Smith] and her board back, trying to do it the right way," he said. "[They're] a great, great club.
"They have good players as well and that's the key to any good team."
Palace must decide who will start in goal with a finger injury ruling the long-serving Julian Speroni out so Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey or new signing Alex McCarthy will be given the chance.
Morocco forward Marouane Chamakh is unavailable because of a hamstring injury and will also miss Palace's next fixture against Arsenal but expensive summer signings Yohan Cabaye and Connor Wickham are expected to make their debuts.
Source: PAR
