Press news in...

Daniel Farke addresses the media ahead of Norwich City v Cardiff City. Updates to come from 1.45pm.
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DF: No injury news. Everyone who was involved in the last game is available tomorrow. Good news on Rupp who returned to team training yesterday. He could make it into the squad.

DF: There are still a few games to play until January. Let's see how the situation is then. Good news with Xavi as he's back in individual training and can return to team training on Tuesday.

DF: We don't rely on one player. Many of ours are in red hot form and Emi is one of them. He's fully focused. It's important that we let him recover between games, but the spotlight isn't just on him.

DF: Emi's our player and fully committed. Its's not up to me to take part in speculation or rumours. He's our player and will be our player.

DF: This league is about consistency. It's sometimes nice to look at statistics, but there are no guarantees. We're not even half-way through the season.

DF: Teemu has been a key player for us since he arrived. He doesn't have to prove anything. He's back in double figures in the Championship. It's great to have these memories, but now we concentrate on what we can influence and that's the next game.

DF: I still haven't sent Jurgen a message after his award. I didn't want to annoy him with a little text but it will come.

DF: Harry Wilson is a fantastic player but Cardiff have many threats. It's no coincidence they've been consistent in recent weeks. They want to finish in the top six and were in the Premier League two years ago. We're respectful and have to be at the top of our game.

DF: It's definitely good news for us to keep having supporters at our ground. We're not just selfish though, we hope that for the whole society the situation improves sooner rather than later. We're not over the moon about our situation being better than others.

DF: Tim is not available. We initially said he'd be out for three weeks, so it's a negative surprise. We were sure he'd be ready for Cardiff but is still symptomatic, moaning about problems on the pitch.

DF: The last two percent of his body is not ready to go, so it doesn't make sense to take risks. We can't bring him back tomorrow sadly, but there is a bit more time before the Watford game and we hope he's available soon.

DF: We've let Kieran play a bit longer than expected - nearly 45 minutes. It was a good performance and he covered a lot of distance, but he was exhausted and we have to be a bit careful.

DF: Todd is on the way back, Placheta and Idah are still out as well as Onel, so we have to be careful. Kieran is ready to go but we'll give him the time and don't expect too much from him. It's good to have him back as a valuable option to influence a game.

DF: Because we've won tight games before, it gives confidence. We're also getting more into our rhythm with some players coming back who bring different energy on the pitch.

DF: We're critical and speak about topics we can improve, even when we win. The further away from our goal we play our game, the safer it is. I was pleased at Reading because we played more or less in their half.

DF: Our game management was good so we gave many compliments. It's not easy to press high when you're in the lead, but that's what we did.

DF: Looking at the recent form, Cardiff have won five of the last six which is outstanding. They have an unbelievable amount of quality players and an experienced coach on this level.

DF: We're also a strong opponent for them, so it's not like we're scared. Every game on this level is difficult so we have to deliver again.

DF: You can sense on the pitch how much fun the players have together and how much they appreciate wearing the yellow shirt. There's no relegation hangover and we have a proper team winning many games.

DF: For players who were thinking about their futures, recent weeks have shown there is a top class future at our club. We are more attractive for several players in January than other clubs were for our players in September. I'm not concerned at all.

DF: Complacency is not a topic at all because we know this league too well and how tough every game is. None of our wins have been easy. In every game, we've had to fight to the last second. Once you sense this, you're fully aware how difficult it is.

DF: Perhaps for people who don't follow our games that closely, it looks like we're in a comfortable position, but when you're deep in this topic you know you have to grind out results. Everyone involved with Norwich knows this. We're aware of our strengths and are confident, but not in an arrogant or cocky way.

DF: Neil Harris was always known as a coach who pays a lot of attention to set-pieces, as were Cardiff. No other team has scored more goals from set-pieces, so one topic is to control possession and keep them as far away from our goal as possible, but then you have to be focused to defend them.

DF: Sean Morrison is perhaps the best player in this league from set-pieces. We're playing with technical players who are sometimes not the tallest, so we have to make sure they don't get too many set-pieces, but are pro-active in defending them.

DF: Man City were always one of the teams who conceded the fewest set-piece goals, but it's not like they have tall players, they just don't concede corners or free-kicks.

DF: It's important not to get carried away and Max doesn't. Everyone is aware he's the best right-back in the league, but he doesn't have to win every game for us to make it into the England squad. I'm not concerned that he's flying under the radar. He just has to keep going without thinking too far ahead, then everything will happen how it should.

DF: Everyone has acknowledged how difficult the times are. We want to play in an atmosphere where there's more excitement, so we're happy when we play away and other teams have fans. It's always better and makes it a different game.

DF: We're not proud that we're one of the few clubs who can have fans. It's good for the people allowed to join us, but we hope that people are allowed at other stadiums too.

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That's all from the boss this afternoon. Thank-you for following today's live blog.

Posted By: DrDublin, Dec 18, 14:19:08