Johannes Hoff Thorup joked he will abandon ‘Hoffball’ to throw Narcis Pelach off track, ahead of a swift Stoke City reunion with his former Norwich City first team coach.

Pelach departed the Dane’s backroom team last month to take over in the Potteries, along with keeper coach Paul Clements, and the duo will face their old club on Saturday.

Thorup dismissed the potential importance of familiarity on both sides of this Championship duel.

“If you look at coaches, just in England in the competitions, there's so many where they know each other and they've been working with each other for years, at previous clubs, or as assistants, or whatever,” said Thorup, speaking at Colney on Thursday.

“So I think my view on football is that it's 80pc to 90pc about us, and if we are good enough, then I think we can be good enough against all the teams in the league. That's the approach that we take.

“We have to make sure that we do our stuff with high quality and we are focused and intense in everything we do. And then, of course, we have to be aware that it is coaches who were in the building just a couple of weeks ago, so we have to take that into consideration in some areas of the game. But I think mostly it's up to us, and it's up to us to continue with the style that we've been doing.”

Thorup can see signs of Pelach’s imprint on the Potters.

“From game one to the last game, and they had a great result against Portsmouth, I think they've been doing some work,” he said. “Getting more calm on the ball, having some good positions and trying also to build the game from the back on goal kicks. There's something going on.

"We also have to be aware that maybe the international break allows him to get some players back, and that will have allowed them to take some more steps in these past 10 or 12 days.”

City have yet to replace Pelach, but Thorup indicated they are closing in on their number one candidate.

Norwich settled on a two-person shortlist, with a domestic-based coach at a Premier League club believed to have emerged as their prime target.

“We are getting closer. I think we can say we are close to finding the candidate we want,” he said. “And then, of course, there's discussions between clubs and agents. There's so many parts of this where to set a timeline on it is sometimes tricky and sometimes difficult, but again, we are getting closer.

"Whether it's going to be for Stoke, I think it's maybe too optimistic. But, of course, it can develop quickly, so there's a chance, but maybe more realistic to say start of next week.”