Kenny McLean is urging his Norwich City colleagues to take responsibility for their performances ahead of the new Championship season that begins this weekend at Cardiff.

The Scottish midfielder understands how to be successful in the second tier, having played a key role in the Canaries’ two title wins at this level under previous boss Daniel Farke.

Norwich head up the bookmakers' odds to win the division outright and bounce into the new campaign with plenty of expectation, both internally and externally.

Despite a natural churn to their first-team squad, the key difference as they enter the new campaign is a fresh voice in the dugout.

McLean is adamant that despite the change in head coach, the players won’t be using that as an excuse as they approach the new campaign.

“It’s going to be different under every manager, of course but the goals are the same,” McLean said.

“The preparation is the same. We know where we want to be mentally going into the season. We know as a club, as fans and players what the expectations are and it’s up to us as players to take responsibility.

“The manager has been in plenty (of time), he’s been there and done it in this league. Us players need to take responsibility not really think about who is in charge. We know he (Dean Smith) will have us ready to go. It’s up to us as players on Saturday to do our job.”

Norwich concluded their pre-season campaign with back-to-back fixtures against Celtic and Hibernian in Scotland over this weekend.

McLean is keen to park the inevitable comparison to seasons that have gone before but insists the squad knows what is needed to gain promotion from the Championship.

“Everybody is going to compare it,” McLean said. “Whether it’s new staff, new players, new manager, it was always going to get compared with previous times but we’re not comparing it to two years ago.

“Plenty of us had a taste of that and were involved in it so we know what is required. We are working under different staff but we feel we are in a very good place and have a very good squad.

“I’m not going to say that we will bounce straight back up but we will do everything we can, that’s for sure.”