Ruairi McConville, speaking last night to the Pink Un at a Norwich City Fan Social Club event, gave City fans a fascinating insight into life under Philippe Clement.
The young Northern Ireland international, who captained the team in Saturday’s 3-1 FA Cup win over West Brom, spoke in glowing terms of the place in which he finds himself and the job Clement has done since arriving at the club in late November.
“Ever since he’s come in, from the first day, the training has been incredible. He really puts us to work, and that’s what you want as a player.
New-found confidence
The confidence boost that the whole squad has tangibly benefited from since Clement’s arrival, alongside Stephan van der Heyden, was confirmed.
The suggestion was that confidence across the board was low before the Belgian’s arrival; a clear by-product of the terrible performance levels and awful form that beset the Liam Manning era.
“He’s really re-instilled confidence in me; something that I haven’t really had since I came here.”
McConville was also full of praise for the club’s supporters and was grateful for the opportunity the players now have to give something back to them. He spoke of the special “moments”, of which there have been several recently.
Interestingly, despite the Manning era eroding the collective confidence, McConville spoke of the mood in the dressing room not being as negative as was, perhaps, envisaged by those of us on the outside looking in.
“The positivity has always been there, and to have those moments with the fans, home and away, has been special.”
The 20-year-old Irishman also spoke proudly of being handed the captain’s armband at the weekend, although he wasn’t informed until the team meeting that took place around two hours before kick-off. Luckily, he had family members attending the game who were there to witness his special moment.
“To be able to captain this club at this age is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
No fear in heading to Elland Road
Saturday’s FA Cup win over West Brom has earned them a trip to Leeds in the last 16, something that, according to McConville, they are not fearing. Instead, they are looking forward to the occasion.
“It’s a tie that we were excited about when the draw was made.”
All of which should whet the appetite for the Canary faithful, although McConville spoke (typically) of the need to take one game at a time, and the hope of having some momentum when they head to Elland Road.
Finally, he was asked about his arrival in the January transfer window of 2025 and how difficult he found it with a scarcity of first-team game time.
This was, he agreed, in stark contrast to the January arrivals this year – Ali Ahmed, Paris Maghoma, Sam Field, and Mo Toure – all of whom have contributed in their first few weeks at the club.
“Everyone can see how well they [the January signings] have adapted, not just into the team but into the league also. They’ve hit the ground running and helped us so much.”
In summary, Ruairi confirmed to the Pink Un that he is in a good place, as are his teammates, but there remains plenty of work still to be done.
The good news is, he confirmed that, as a group, they are now looking up the Championship rather than over their shoulders.
