Adam Drury believes that a victory over Derby County on Saturday afternoon could act as the "springboard" for Norwich City to secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

Since Alex Neil took charge at Carrow Road in January, the Canaries, who at the time were seventh and 10 points adrift of second-placed rivals Ipswich Town, have lost just twice in 12 outings, winning nine times.

Such form has elevated Neil's men up to fifth, with the four teams above them - one of which is Derby - all just one point better off.

A win over the Rams could potentially send Norwich to the summit with only nine matches left to play and so with that in mind, Drury has told Sports Mole that the three points would see his former club fire out a major warning to their fellow promotion contenders.

"[Winning] sends out a message. They've got Derby and Middlesbrough to come, so it's in their own hands and that's the way that you want it. If you go back two or three months, they were relying on other teams," said the 36-year-old, who will soon be running the London Marathon for charity.

"Now, if they win Saturday, the springboard that should give them will be massive. It would give them a huge chance of going up automatically.

"Some of the games coming up, they might not play well and that could happen against Derby. If they can grind out a 1-0 win, that's all that matters."

Earlier in the season in the corresponding fixture, a last-minute strike from Steven Whittaker earned Norwich a 2-2 draw at the iPro Stadium.