BRYAN Gunn wants his Norwich City players to ram Kevin Lisbie's words down his throat in the Old Farm derby tomorrow.On loan Canaries striker and former Town favourite Alan Lee, who still lives on the Essex/Suffolk border, cut out the EADT'S back page headlines and story on Tuesday when Lisbie said Town wanted to give City 'a spanking' for Town fans.

Derek Davis

BRYAN Gunn wants his Norwich City players to ram Kevin Lisbie's words down his throat in the Old Farm derby tomorrow.

On loan Canaries striker and former Town favourite Alan Lee, who still lives on the Essex/Suffolk border, cut out the EADT'S back page headlines and story on Tuesday when Lisbie said Town wanted to give City 'a spanking' for Town fans.

Gunn wants to use the words from the former on loan City striker

Gunn said: “We'll be sticking comments up in the dressing room from individual players that come out and trying to create a reaction from our squad.

“It helps - the outrageous ones do. Our lads have been fairly careful in their comments in the press this week so far - I've not had to post any of ours up in our dressing room and say, 'what are you doing?'

“I know he (Jim Magilton) will be doing exactly the same thing down at the other end. It's a battle of mind games beforehand, even in the Championship so we will have to cope with that and get on with it and come 12.45 on Sunday may the best team win.”

The City boss, who famously miscued when trying to clear a Rob Ullathorne back pass in 1996, is also hoping the Town fans will turn on their team if things are not going well early on.

He said: “It's a great atmosphere. “This is what you come into the game for, to play in stadiums with capacity crowds, so young players and old players will hopefully enjoy the experience and I am certainly looking forward to the atmosphere as well - it's a 12.45 kick-off and I don't think it will be dampened by anything or quietened by anything.

“I think it will be as noisy, I don't want to use the word ferocious, but it can be intimidating at times - but whether that's the case at the moment I'm not so sure at Portman Road.

“I've been at some of the games and the crowd have been subdued, I suppose is the right word. So it's up to us to go there and as any good away team will try and do, quieten the crowd down.

“That's down to us and our approach to the early part of the game, so we will be hoping to do that and then we will have a good section of the crowd as well, over 2,000 Norwich fans and I know they'll go down there and make as much noise and get behind the team just like our home support did last weekend.”

Gunn is under no illusion as to the importance of the game and even though they can't be relegated tomorrow, losing will make survival all the more difficult.

He said: “We need to go to Portman Road to try and achieve a result that will keep us in the Championship.

“If they're finding results difficult maybe we've got an opportunity to take advantage of that. I'm sure that Jim Magilton will be firing his team up very much in the same manner as I'll be doing.”