Lambert salutes 'huge' Holt

Norwich boss felt side were well worth success against Swansea

By Rob Parrish - Follow me on Twitter @skysportsrobp.   Last Updated: February 11, 2012 6:23pm

Image text here

Grant Holt: Norwich striker scored twice in impressive victory away to Swansea

Sky Bet

Norwich boss Paul Lambert paid tribute to two-goal hero Grant Holt as the Canaries triumphed 3-2 in a thrilling contest with Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

The home side, whose only previous Premier League defeat came at the hands of Manchester United, took the lead through a smart finish from Danny Graham in the first half.

But Norwich roared back after the break, with Holt on target twice and Anthony Pilkington finding the back of the net via a huge deflection from Neil Taylor.

Graham's second from the spot after Holt hauled back Ashley Williams set up a grandstand finale, with the Canaries holding on for a deserved success.

Huge

Lambert was quick to praise his powerful forward, who has worked his way up from non-league to the elite of English football, and the rest of his squad.

He told Sky Sports: "It's not just this season, it's the three years that he's been here he has been huge for me and huge for the football club.

"Where he has come from, there have been a lot of doubters who have knocked him even before he has kicked a ball in earnest in the Premier League, and he has been close to the best.

"They are as honest as the day is long, they are a fantastic group to work with and they are making a name for themselves and quite rightly so."

The Norwich boss felt his men fully deserved the success against their Championship foes from last season, and suggested that the way to nullify the much-vaunted passing style of Brendan Rodgers' men was to press them when in possession.

Excellent

He added: "It was a fine result but I thought the performance was terrific, our football was excellent and I thought we deserved to win the game.

"If you are going to give people time on the ball, it doesn't matter if they are good players or bad players, then anybody can do it. We had a game-plan to play and I thought we were excellent all over the pitch.

"I thought we started the game really well, I thought Swansea maybe scored against the run of play with their first attack. In the second half we changed it a little bit, and we might have won a bit more convincingly.

"It's only the second time Swansea have lost here, and I thought we were well worth the victory."