Despite a fantastic debut, Norwich manager Alex Neil told the Eastern Daily Press the best is yet to come from new signing Steven Naismith. His goal and the winning of a penalty gave City a 3-1 lead, but was unable to prevent his new team crumbling to a 5-4 defeat against Liverpool.
The transfer pursuit for the ex-Everton and Rangers forward started way back in the previous summer, but was unable to be completed as Roberto Martinez failed to bring in a replacement on transfer deadline day. The Norwich manager now believes that his performance on Saturday proves it was a case of better late than never.
He is an intelligent player, he can play a number of roles, and if he can drop into those holes he can cause problems for the opposition and make life difficult. He gives us a good link between the frontline and the midfield. Wes has been operating in there, but Wes always wants to come towards the ball and get the ball at his feet, whereas Steven will run off him and will make runs into the box which are really difficult to pick up, like his goal. He’s got a real good finish with both feet and he picks it up dangerous areas for the opposition. He’s also good in the air and I thought he had a real good performance.
Neil revealed he had to go on a charm offensive to show the Scottish international just how much he was wanted at Carrow Road. It will now be a case of making up for lost time as an inconsistent start to the season has left Norwich hanging perilously above the relegation zone.
When we target a player we aggressively go after them and try to convince them this is the place they want to be. When we are trying to get players in you don’t make one phone call. We tried to show him how much we wanted him and how much he would contribute to us.
It turned out a key reason for the unusually long length of the transfer was the complicated personal situation with Naismith and his family.
We knew the situation with his family, with a new baby on the way, and why it was getting postponed or drawn out. I think everybody has got their own things they need to deal with in their own lives and make sure it is right for them and their family. That is why we pursued him so heavily. I knew he wanted to come here and play for us.
The one thing about him and what attracted him to us is he can play in a number of positions, a number nine, number 11, number seven or even a 10 he can occupy. Like every player he will have his own preference but more often than not he has been used at Everton as a 10 or on the left-hand side.
