Daniel Farke admitted it was mission accomplished for Norwich City but they had to do it the hard way in a 1-0 Championship victory over Rotherham.

Teemu Pukki's 15th goal of the season moved the Canaries seven points clear of their promotion rivals after a tense second half at Carrow Road.

City were indebted to Max Aarons' defensive instincts to block Matt Crooks' goalbound effort as Paul Warne's strugglers pushed for a leveller.

"I am happy with a win. I don’t want to use the word ‘but’, although it was a tough game for us. You have to be switched on every second in this league. Look at other results. It is a massive compliment to my lads to be delivering with such consistency," said Farke. "The 1-0 result is actually a joke. The game should be buried at half-time.

"When I think not only of the goal but all the other situations. Teemu, Mario (Vrancic), Emi (Buendia), all central with shooting chances. If we could pick three players to put in those positions I would choose those three.

"Max Aarons thought he was offside when Kenny McLean plays him that long ball into the box with the keeper behind him. He could have run into the empty goal. We should have been at least 3-0, 4-0 at half-time.

"Second half, perhaps not that many chances, but some good shooting positions. If you don’t score that second against Rotherham they are a brave side with courage and they will go for it. You have to play without any mistakes. That is the task.

"Tim Krul hardly had a save. But Max had to repair one scene with a massive block on the line. After this game our goal difference should look much better but I am delighted with the win. The three points is the most important thing."

Farke was forced into one change when Ben Gibson woke up with a back complaint on the morning of the game. Christoph Zimmermann slotted in alongside Grant Hanley to anchor another clean sheet.

"Ben reported some back problems. It came more or less suddenly because there was no issues before that," said Farke. "It can happen when you play every three days on these pitches. We had a chat and if he isn't 100pc then we have a tight squad. It makes no sense to start him.

"We tried everything to get him on the bench but he felt uncomfortable sprinting in the warm up. So we brought Andrew Omobamidele onto the bench.

"I was totally convinced Christoph would deliver a top performance. It is strange because in training he is so sharp, disciplined and concentrated. It is tough to leave someone out with his quality and experience. He paid my trust back. It is not easy to come in for this situation when you have not been playing."