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Paul Lambert insisted the Barclays Premier League title race would be the last thing on Norwich's minds when they face Manchester City in what could prove a decisive clash at Carrow Road.

A Canaries victory on Saturday lunchtime would give Manchester United the chance to regain their eight-point lead over their championship rivals with only four games remaining.

City boss Roberto Mancini has already written off his side's hopes of closing the current five-point gap and even the most optimistic supporter would be forced to agree should they suffer yet another away defeat.

Norwich boss Lambert acknowledged his side could have a huge say on the destiny of the title but added: "We have to win for our own sake.

"I don't go out there to do anybody else any favours. I go out there to do it for myself and the football club.

"That's the first and foremost thing in my head, to win for ourselves and that's what we'll try to do."

Norwich are still basking in the glory of Monday's shock victory at Tottenham, their performance hailed by Lambert as their best since he took charge two-and-a-half years ago.

And he declared on Friday there was even more to come from his Premier League new boys.

"You'd like to think so," he said.

"I don't want them just to rest on one game.

"You want to try to go as far as you can and the lads will be ready for tomorrow.

"It's a huge, massive game for us and the good thing is they're really vibrant at the minute.

"Results do that for them."

He added: "They don't have any trepidation whatsoever.

"We know we're up against a right top side, who are still vying to try to win the league, and we're going to have to play every bit as well as we did on Monday to have a chance.

"We have to play as well, if not better, than what we did to get anything from it."

Lambert refused to be drawn on City's problems this season, which reached a crescendo during Sunday's defeat at Arsenal.

Mario Balotelli's meltdown earned him a three-match ban, ruling him out of Saturday's game.

Lambert said: "They've got world-class players all over the pitch so it doesn't really matter at the end of the day."

The officials' failure to spot Balotelli's knee-high challenge on Alex Song on Sunday was just one of several refereeing blunders in the Premier League over the Easter weekend.

Norwich were also victims of two rejected penalty appeals at White Hart Lane.

Lambert said: "There have been a lot of strange decisions over the weekend.

"We had a couple ourselves and it's a really difficult job being an official.

"But the big calls, I think, you've got to get right. When you get a big call wrong then obviously the scrutiny comes down heavily on you."

Asked what should be done to avoid a repeat, Lambert said: "I'm not going to get into that because it wears you down talking about that all the time.

"It's for other people to decide. I've got my own hard enough job here to keep this team winning at the minute and keep them playing the way they are."

And Lambert promised a very different result from Norwich's reverse fixture with City in December, a 5-1 defeat that remains their heaviest defeat of Lambert's reign.

"I'd like to think it'll be a different game," he said.

"Manchester City will be strong favourites, as they normally are.

"But we're certainly playing well enough at this moment in time to give them a fright."