Zat aims to halt Grant
5:20pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in Latest By Marc Iles
ZAT Knight has already battled with Wayne Rooney, Andy Carroll and Robin van Persie in 2012 – but it’s a safe bet the big defender won’t have come across anything like Grant Holt.
Norwich’s one-man battering ram is the runaway leader at the top of the Premier League’s foul table, penalised 54 times in 22 appearances, 10 of which have been from the bench.
It’s a position well known to Wanderers fans, who have seen talismanic striker Kevin Davies pilloried down the years for his no-nonsense style by opponents who refuse to look past the statistics. And with that in mind, it’s worth noting the one-time Rochdale front man has also scored nine goals in all competitions, attracting deadline day interest from Glasgow Rangers that was sharply rebuffed by Paul Lambert’s Canaries.
Knight knows, nevertheless, that he will face a physical test against the journeyman striker, even if his mind is focused on continuing Wanderers’ own recent upturn in form.
“When they played at our place he was on the bench and he came on in the second half,” he said. “I have never played against him other than that, but of course, you know his style.
“It seems he is having a good season. But I don’t concentrate on individuals. I just concentrate on my own game.
“And if I raise my own game then I don’t fear anyone.
“All strikers have their own strengths. I do like playing against the bigger strikers because you can go shoulder to shoulder instead of playing against a little one.
“I like to test myself whether it be against Grant Holt, Van Persie or Andy Carroll.”
New signing Tim Ream is back from the States and available to play against Norwich, but the smart money is on Knight again partnering David Wheater at the heart of the Wanderers defence.
It is a partnership showing signs of improvement, and, on the back of a fifth clean sheet of the campaign, one the 31-year-old hopes can continue to provide the solid base for Wanderers’ climb up the table.
“We are enjoying it,” he said. “I’m talking more to him because he hasn’t had a lot of games this season.
“We have 15 or 16 games left so, hopefully, both of us can keep fit and continue to play alongside each other for the rest of the season.
“We haven’t had this type of run going for a while so we need to cherish it and build on it.
“It’s a tough game against Norwich but, hopefully, we can come away with the three points and then we’ve got Wigan at home.
“If we win those two games and other results go our way, we can start moving up the league. It’s so tight that if you win a couple of games all of a sudden you can be in top half of the table.”
Wanderers head to Carrow Road having lost just once in their last eight games and with a fresh wave of optimism sweeping through the camp after a hellish first half to the season.
And, though Knight is careful to avoid sounding complacent, he believes the seeds of recovery are plain to see.
“Since the turn of the year I think we have improved with each game. We need to get back to how we played last season, particularly in the first half of the year,” he said.
“We are seeing glimpses because we have had some tough games. And we have pulled through, apart from at Man United.
“There is no point having good performances, like against Arsenal, then ruining it against the likes of Norwich and Wigan. We’ve got to keep fighting to get out of this position.
“Before the Arsenal game, I said to Nigel Reo-Coker, if we can get four points out of the next two games, that will be a good return. We’ve got the draw against Arsenal so, hopefully, we can get the win at Norwich.”
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