GLENN Roeder was spared the wrath of Norwich City fans when he insisted the Canaries will escape relegation - and do it for veteran striker Dion Dublin.

GLENN Roeder was spared the wrath of Norwich City fans when he insisted the Canaries will escape relegation - and do it for veteran striker Dion Dublin.

The 38-year-old is counting down the games before he retires in the summer after two decades in the game, and Roeder told a packed crowd at a fans' forum at Carrow Road that he had ordered his players at a meeting yesterday not to allow a distinguished career to end on the lowest of low notes.

“I said to them, 'look at him sitting there. He is 38 years old, he's had a fantastic career, his career is over in six weeks time. We are not as a group of players and a staff going to let him leave the game' … I don't want to even talk about it,” said Roeder.

“You know where I am coming from - we are not going to let that happen to Dion.”

Having led City through a 13-match unbeaten run, Roeder has watched the Canaries slip back just above the relegation zone after a run of just one win in the last seven games.

However, he believes he has seen signs of a recovery - and his jovial manner last night disarmed a crowd which fell short of giving him the third degree which many expected.

Roeder's rallying cry was well received, with a healthy ovation after a question and answer session lasting around an hour, during which time he tackled subjects ranging from loan players and the Academy to his psychological make-up and, hardly surprisingly, Darren Huckerby.