Rickie Lambert is set to make his Cardiff City debut on Saturday, but Norwich City manager Alex Neil is unconvinced the former England striker will be a success at the Bluebirds.
Lambert joined Cardiff in the final hours of the transfer window – a deal that was either a masterful piece of blindside timing or a fanciful and desperate gamble for goals, depending on your perspective.
The 34-year-old was good enough to still be an England selection less than two years ago, but the goals trickled rather than flowed at Liverpool and then virtually dried up at West Bromwich Albion.
Neil, whose Norwich side host Cardiff after a middling start to the season, said Lambert has the capacity to still score, but the Scot his doubts.
“I think he’s capable. He’s done it in the past, but it remains to be seen whether he’s going to do that for Cardiff. I’m not quite sure,” he said.
“He’s not had a whole lot of game-time between pre-season and now so I’d imagine he won’t be fully up to speed, but he’s certainly a threat.
“He’s got goals in him, he’s done that over the course of his career and if he does play we’re going to have to keep him quiet.”
Neil expects Cardiff to more concerned with a defensive set-up than something which might provide the ammunition for Lambert.
“Cardiff, they’ll play a three, or a five, whichever way you want to look at it at the back, and we need to make sure that we’re capable of breaking them down without leaving ourselves exposed at the back and that’s pretty much going to be the key in the game for us.
“I think the first goal is absolutely crucial and I think if we can get that, we can go and implement our style of play on them.”
Lambert has enthusiastically insisted he is still motivated to prove wrong doubters like Neil, despite dropping from the Premier League into the Championship.
The former Southampton marksman said: “I moved here for a number of reasons, but the main one was the last two years of not playing much football and a chance not to sit on the bench every week.
“It’s been a frustrating time and I’ve been desperate to play and give to a football club like I’ve given all my career.
“That feeling you had in the lower leagues, the hunger you need to win and even earn wages, has never left me.”
Cardiff’s loan arrival Ben Amos is expected to make his first appearance in goal following the sale of goalkeeper David Marshall to Hull.
Central defender Sean Morrison has taken over the captaincy following Marshall’s departure, and Emyr Huws is in contention to make his full debut after impressing as a substitute for Wales against Moldova.
Former Cardiff striker Cameron Jerome is expected to start for the Canaries after recovering from injury.
