Daniel Farke is confident Norwich City's testing run-in will leave his troops battle-hardened to attack the Championship next season.

City have mixed it with a clutch of the promotion contenders over recent weeks, but Farke wants the Canaries to be operating at the sharp end in 12 months time.

'Let's wait how the transfer window develops this summer and if we can keep the core group of quality we have,' he said. 'But I get the feeling when we face a Preston or Fulham or Cardiff or Aston Villa our young lads grow and develop.

'When I think of Jamal Lewis he is getting this exposure every week now. It can only help him to be even stronger for the next season.

'The same for James Maddison, Josh Murphy, Dennis Srbeny, Harrison Reed, Angus Gunn.

'It is not so much about a lad like Alex Tettey, because he knows how to win these type of battles.

'It is important to learn what is required and we pay a lot of attention to this area.'

Farke kept the same line up for the spirited 0-0 draw at Preston that had previously pushed Cardiff all the way last time out at Carrow Road. That meant another start for Harrison Reed in favour of Ivo Pinto at right back.

'It is a sign Harry did very well in recent weeks in both central midfield and also the full back position,' said Farke.

'I was really pleased with his performances but it was a tactical decision (at Preston).

'I think only James Maddison had more minutes than Ivo this season and I got the feeling, after he was out for five games with injury, he is a bit tired in the moment.

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'It was purely a tactical decision because Preston normally press the full backs and I wanted a player who was really composed with the ball.

'Because Harrison plays in centre midfield he is used to a lot of pressure and just small gaps to find a solution.

'When he has space to use his pace and experience that is Ivo's game.

'We had no load during the week before so it wasn't necessary to rotate a lot.

'I thought from a tactical perspective it was the right line up because we needed to be composed on the ball to control the game.'