Danny Batth: Norwich City defender says clean sheets key in Championship
- Published
Danny Batth joined Norwich on a 12-month contract, with an option for a further year
Norwich City defender Danny Batth believes clean sheets are crucial for a team hoping to win games consistently in the "unforgiving" Championship.
The Canaries shut out an opponent for the first time in almost two months in beating QPR 1-0 at Carrow Road.
Hwang Ui-jo scored the winner as they moved up to 13th in the table, five points adrift of the play-off spots.
"It wasn't our most pretty performance but we'll build on that and take some confidence from it," said Batth.
"As a defender, that's what you judge yourself on, clean sheets. We fancy ourselves for goals, so it's about the rest of the team being solid and organised, and facilitating that.
"Confidence comes from clean sheets and winning games. It's not rocket science."
Norwich have now won two in a row after a disappointing run of only one victory in their previous nine league games.
Head coach David Wagner said following the win over QPR that his side need to be harder to break down and he is willing to accept them being less entertaining to achieve that.
"The Championship can be unforgiving. You've only got to be 2-3% off and you'll get punished," Batth told BBC Radio Norfolk.
"With the amount of games, teams pick up injuries like we have and you've got to have that real spirit to pull yourself together and go and get a result."
Batth helped Sunderland win promotion from League One in 2022 and made 40 appearances in the second tier for the Wearsiders last season.
But he has had to wait for a chance since joining Norwich and the game against QPR was only his second start in the league.
He said: "There's good players here and that means I've got to be at my best every day - it challenges me every day.
"I've had to be patient but if I get an opportunity, it's about how I prepare myself when that opportunity comes along."
Norwich now face back-to-back away games, against Watford on Tuesday and Bristol City on Saturday.
Batth added: "All my career, I've always looked to be positive, be front footed. As a player, you've got to keep things in perspective, not judge yourself on one game, you judge yourself at the end of the season.
"For me it's about batches of games. We've ticked one off (against QPR), can we go to Watford and get a result?"