We’ve not signed the next Messi warns Norwich City manager

Posted Monday, April 04, 2011 by Eveningnews24.co.uk

Paul Lambert has warned Norwich City fans not to expect too much from loan signing Dani Pacheco.

The Spain Under-21 international has joined the promotion-chasing Canaries from Liverpool for the rest of the season and has been training with his new team-mates at Colney.

But supporters excited by glimpses of Pacheco’s skills on the internet have been urged not to get carried away.

“He’s only a kid so people shouldn’t expect I’ve signed Lionel Messi. I haven’t,” said Lambert.

“You’ve got to get it out of your head right away. He’s not going to come in with everybody thinking this kid’s going to be a wonder. It’s nothing like that at all.

“I just see something in him – we might get the best out of the lad.”

Lambert thanked Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish, briefly his manager at Celtic, for sanctioning Pacheco’s loan move.

“I’ve spoken to Kenny for a good while now. The relationship I’ve got with Kenny, being at Celtic and that, he was great with me,” said Lambert.

“Kenny’s been a major help to us to get him but he’s only a kid, he’s only 20 years of age and has not played many first team games for Liverpool. In that type of environment, it’s hard to break into the side but I’ve seen enough to think we might just get something different from him.

“He certainly can pass it, control it. But he’s only a kid that’s learning the game and we’ve given him an opportunity to come out on loan. Just let the lad go and play.”

Pacheco and Wolves striker Sam Vokes were the Canaries’ pre-deadline loan captures and, according to the manager, they have joined a very buoyant squad at Colney after a blank weekend on the fixture list

“I know exactly what the feeling is at training,” said Lambert.

“I think they needed the break mentally, the lads. It probably came at a time when we needed it because our efforts have been extraordinary and they needed a bit of help with some new lads coming in. They’ve come back and looked great.

“Going to Hull was one of the hardest games we’ve had and to not get beaten, to see it through when we were tired, was a huge point for us.”

The City boss refused to look further than today’s visit of Scunthorpe, with his team a point clear in second place going into the final eight Championship games.

He said: “If you win eight games, you’ve done it, haven’t you? Nobody can catch you then, but that’s a massive, massive ask. I don’t know what happens today, let alone what happens in eight games time. If we can win, it’s another one off the list.”