Northampton boss Brady in awe at 'high-level' Norwich City

The Canaries ran out as comfortable 3-0 winners and dominated the vast majority of the contest in Johannes Hoff Thorup's first outing as head coach. 

City are seeking to implement a different style of play centred around retaining possession and showed early glimpses of progress at Sixfields in the game. 

The opening two weeks of training at Colney have been dedicated to patterns in possession and on-ball structures as Thorup seeks to implement his desired style of play throughout the pre-season campaign. 

Brady was full of praise for Norwich's performances, with the Cobblers boss conceding that City were at too high of a standard for his team to compete with throughout the contest. 

"The opposition were very strong," Brady told BBC Radio Northampton. "It's great to have them here, but it was a hell of a high-level game for us for our first start. We're not quite anywhere near our levels at the moment, but pre-season is about building. 

"They moved the ball excellently. With the new manager, you could see the style already that is starting to be implemented. We can't ever knock back a Norwich [for a game] but you'd like an opposition not at that level for your first one. 

"It was great to play them, but we have lots to work on to improve the squad and embed our principles."

Johannes Hoff Thorup is seeking to implement a new style of play at Norwich City. (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

Norwich will travel to Belgium this week for some tougher tests against Belgian champions Club Brugge and Standard Liege as they ramp up their Championship preparations. 

They will be buoyed by the return of Kenny McLean, Angus Gunn and Grant Hanley after their participation in the Euros, with Marcelino Nunez, Jose Cordoba, and Josh Sargent set to return later in the month.