Neil hails Canaries’ spirit after Everton draw

Michael Graham
Alex Neil: Turnaround due to players' desire

Alex Neil: Turnaround due to players' desire

Norwich boss Alex Neil hailed the resilience of his players after they secured a battling 1-1 draw against Everton at Carrow Road.

The Canaries endured a tough first 45 minutes, and should really have gone in at the break more than just one goal down following Romelu Lukaku’s 15th-minute opener, leading to the home fans booing off the hosts at half time.

However, Norwich had the best of the second half and earned a point through Wes Hoolahan’s scrambled equaliser.

Neil, though, was reluctant to take credit for effecting the chance, and instead praised his team for their mental strength.

“I voiced my concerns and feelings at half-time,” Neil told BT Sport 1.

“The strange thing with football is tactically nothing changed, all that changed was our desire and effort.

“Once there were a few slack passes and we conceded the goal there were a few grumps and groans from the fans and I think the players didn’t really know how to respond to that.

“But credit to them. There were a few questions posed to them at half-time and they came out and answered them. That’s the reaction we were looking for.”

The result sees Norwich still embroiled in the developing relegation scrap at the bottom, but Neil believes that they have little to worry about should they maintain the second half standard against Everton.

“If we perform like we did in the second half then we will be fine,” he said

“All that changed in the second half was the way we went about our business.”