Daniel Farke admitted the winning feeling of a Carrow Road return with Leeds was matched by the warmth of the reaction from Norwich City fans.
Farke plotted the downfall of David Wagner’s side with a three-goal second half comeback, nearly two years after he was dismissed by the Canaries.
The German was warmly applauded before and after the victory for his previous achievements during a spell in Norfolk that landed two Championship titles, and two promotions to the Premier League.
Farke kept his trademark victory wave celebrations under wraps at full-time as a mark of respect to his former supporters.
“My gut feeling was I had to behave this way. I wasn’t sure how I would feel coming into Carrow Road,” he said. “During the game I was just concentrated on helping my lads. After the final whistle it was quite emotional for myself because I never had the chance to say goodbye.
“I got a lot of appreciation from the Norwich supporters and this club will always have a special place in my heart. We had four and a half years of unbelievable memories. I will always be grateful to be allowed to achieve what we achieved, and play a small part in this.
“Of course I was full of joy because I was so happy for my lads and supporters but I also wanted to show some respect at Carrow Road, my home for such a long time. I didn’t want to do the wave I had done with the home fans here for such a long time. It was the right decision. I owed this to my former club.
“It had nothing to do with the result. Whether we had won or lost. It is more like a bond between human beings. I didn’t have the chance for a proper goodbye, and we had so many magic nights here at Carrow Road.
"I wanted to show my appreciation and say thanks a lot for everything they did for me and put so much trust in me.
“This club is a club of class, and the supporters deserved some class back. I don’t want to talk too much about the reaction. I will keep that to myself, but you can imagine. Right now, the times have changed and I am working for an unbelievable club with unbelievable supporters but, be sure, it meant a lot.”
Farke felt the visitors lack of clinical edge was the key difference in trailing2-0 at the break .
“It was a really good advertisement for the Championship, with two really good sides,” he said. “A really emotional turnaround. In a tight game against a good side a point would be good, but the win was deserved.
"We created more chances than you would expect in the first half at a tough ground. It was important we didn’t lose the nerve. We just had to use our chances and be a bit more clinical. That was the only thing I could criticise at half-time.”
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