Derby County v Norwich City: Johannes Hoff Thorup's preview

Warne, a Norfolk boy and self-confessed Norwich fan, is preparing to face his boyhood club for the first time in charge of the Rams, having done so on five occasions whilst managing Rotherham United, winning only one of those meetings back in January 2017. 

He is now leading Derby into battle against City, hoping to retain their positive start to life and return to the Championship after promotion from the third tier last season. 

Warne has made little secret of his love of all things yellow and green, but Thorup has downplayed the significance of his emotional attachment as he attempts to guide City to back-to-back victories. 

"Let's see how much of a supporter he is tomorrow," Thorup joked. "I don't think it will [cause more motivation].

"For players individually, they come from all over the world and have connections to so many different clubs.

"What every coach will try to do is focus on his team and his own performance to prepare them in the best possible way, and I'm sure they will be fully prepared for when we come. That is what he will do.

"That stuff with who he supports will be for after the game. I'm pretty sure I know who he supports when the game is on." 

Derby host Norwich as one of four Championship teams to boost a 100pc record in their own backyard and only the second, along with Sunderland, not to concede a goal in the opening three home matches. A 2-1 defeat to Charlton in February was their last defeat at Pride Park. 

Thorup is anticipating a physical encounter and thinks a solidity from set-pieces is needed given Derby have netted more goals from those situations than any other side at this stage of the Championship campaign. 

"We have to go there tomorrow and make sure they don't have the same record after because they've been good at home," he said. 

"It's a strong team. You can see they are physically strong and have a good discipline in the team. They are compact and get into that shape very quick so if we are even a little bit too slow then it could cause us some trouble to open them up.

"They are good on the counters and then in these corner kick, throw in and free kick situations we have to be really strong. That's a big area of their game."

City will need to be strong in set-piece situations for today's game. (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Norwich head into this clash with momentum fresh from their 4-1 thumping of Watford last weekend when Thorup's methods and game model rose to the surface for the first time for a full game. 

The challenge is now to discover a consistency, and Thorup also identified moments within the convincing victory where he wants to see an improved mindset to help them navigate difficult spells in matches. 

"I was really delighted with the good moments in the game. The good moments that we had were our best moments this season. We played on a very high level," Thorup reflected.

"From the outside, we sat on this feeling that we could always score a goal. It's good to have that feeling. I didn't have it against Oxford for comparison. Then, there were moments in the game where I was not happy with our approach to it.

"We got too passive after our 3-1 goal. But the way we handled the game final 10 minutes was really good because it was about passing and creating the fourth goal.

"That is how we want to handle the end of a game and not being passively defence but taking control on the ball. There are some improvement areas for us, but it's been important for me to tell the guys they've done really well." 

That is a performance that created plenty of positivity among supporters and 2,800 are set to make the early trip to Derbyshire in hope of another step forward. 

Thorup believes a togetherness is forming amongst Norwich City's squad. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Despite the nit-picking of moments against Watford, Thorup shared the positive reflections of last weekend and believed a togetherness is beginning to flower among his squad. 

"We've also tried to highlight some of the psychological moments in the game," Thorup said.

"Our response after their 1-1 goal was a little bit too passive, and we want to tell the players that we can concede no matter where we play or who we're against. No matter how good we play, we can still concede a goal, but it's about our response after.

"We have to be attacking in our mindset again, and these moments were a little bit too sloppy for us. That was worth highlighting, but I also liked our team cohesion - there was so much support among the players after individual duels, shaking each other's hands, and hugging.

"These small moments are so important because the good performances emerge in those small details."