Irvine sets sights on top six finish

Jon Parkin's fifth goal of the campaign sealed the points and stretched North End's unbeaten home run to nine matches on the bounce.Irvine said: "Teams have got games in hand, so you have to expect that our position will change, but it is a lovely position to be in at the moment."If we could just stop the league right now that would be OK."It would be something freakish if (53 points) was not enough to make sure we are in the league next year."I don't know yet what the next target will be that I set. I would not think about it until we got there."We have 13 games left and I'll certainly have a target for myself. Whether I decide to make the players aware of that or not will be dependent on what their frame of mind is."Goals work well as long as you are ahead of your targets. The problem you have is that if you fall behind it can actually work against you."I'll be very careful of any target I make the players aware of."I don't talk to them about promotion. We are taking it bit by bit and hope we do well enough."We are in a fantastic position. There are a lot of clubs who are very close to us."At the end of this month we'll have a really good idea of what chance we have of promotion."Norwich boss Bryan Gunn saw his men remain fifth bottom in the Championship. They have now lost two out of the six games since he took over.Gunn said: "I'm disappointed not to get anything from the game. I thought we were the better team for 42 minutes in the first half."We had a sort of mad spell for three minutes just before half-time where we gave away needless free-kicks on the edge of the box and maybe missed a few clearances. We put ourselves under pressure."In the second half I don't think there was much in it at all. We were obviously trying to push to get something back."We didn't give in against a team who are in top form in the top six of the Championship."Attitude and commitment are going to be crucial in the games that are remaining. There will be a need to work hard for each other."That doesn't just apply to the players, but the coaching staff as well. We are all in it together. We are all sink or swim."I'm not a negative thinker at all. It's a lucky 13 games we are looking for, not an unlucky 13."The Canaries boss reckoned that his side should have had a penalty when Wes Hoolahan went down in the box in the second half."If it was outside the box a ref would probably give a foul. If it's in the box it's a penalty."When you are in the bottom six those decisions don't go for you. When you are in the top six they do."

Source: Team_Talk