Norwich City manager Alex Neil has admitted that he is relieved to get back to winning ways after his side's 3-0 triumph over Derby County at Carrow Road on Monday afternoon.

Nelson Oliveira struck a perfect hat-trick to hand the hosts all three points just two days after they were frustrated in a goalless draw at Brentford.

The Canaries endured a tough couple of months towards the end of last year, with a run of five straight defeats through November leading many fans to call for Neil to be sacked.

"Football is a strange game. Two months ago I was manager of the month and then there was a witch hunt around me. Football changes really quickly," Neil told reporters.

"We have played really well here. Brentford was a step in the right direction. We had five or six great chances and we should have won the game. We needed to take it a step further today and win the game and marry it up with a really good performance.

"Now we need to build on it. We are ninth now, only five points off the playoffs and half a season left to play so plenty for us to play for."

Norwich next welcome fellow Premier League outfit Southampton to Carrow Road in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.