Clement 'won't play fantasy football' at Norwich

New Norwich head coach Philippe Clement is a "realist" who will not be afraid to "ruffle a few feathers" at Carrow Road if necessary, according to the club's former striker Chris Sutton.

The Belgian, previously manager of Scottish giants Rangers, has been appointed on a contract to run until 2029, replacing Liam Manning, who was sacked earlier this month.

Sutton's work covering Scottish football meant he kept a keen eye on Clement's 16-month stint at Ibrox.

"Norwich have got a manager with vast experience," Sutton told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Right now Norwich are in a relegation scrap. He's the type of manager who will come in, assess what he's got and won't play fantasy football. He'll be quite pragmatic in the way that he plays and I think that's a good thing."

"At Rangers, his team were pretty direct at times. Right now it's about Norwich trying to build a bit of confidence within the squad in the early days and go from there."

Norwich are away to 11th-placed Birmingham City on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in Clement's first game in charge, before hosting fellow strugglers Oxford United and lower mid-table QPR.

The Canaries are 23rd in the table, four points from safety and are yet to win at Carrow Road this season.

"There aren't any gimmes in the Championship, it's a brutal league and they are a team low on confidence," Sutton added.

"I don't think it's an easy job because essentially he's taking over a bit of a mess. First and foremost, his task - and let's forget about dreams of the Premier League further down the line - is to stay in the Championship.

"The sensible Norwich fans understand it is a relegation battle the club are in and I think he's the type of character who stands a good chance of keeping Norwich up."