Louis Carey is urging his Bristol City team-mates to come flying out of the starting blocks at Carrow Road.

The Robins may be basking in the afterglow of a six-match unbeaten run which has revived their play-off ambitions, but their captain believes there is still considerable room for improvement.

Resurgent Norwich are next up and Carey fears City risk being punished if they repeat the sluggish first-half performances which have characterised recent games.

He said: "We haven't been at the races in the first half during the last three or four games.

"It's difficult to put a finger on the reason why, especially as we spoke before kick-off about the need to start well and put Charlton under pressure.

"The manager drummed it into everyone that playing the bottom club at home was a potential banana skin, but it didn't work. They were the better side in the first half and had the better chances.

"The gaffer didn't go mad at half-time, because we all knew we could do a lot better. We had a funny feeling we'd go out there and turn it around like we had in previous games.

"But we're not stupid enough to think we're going to keep getting away with playing badly in the first half. We know we're going to have to start well at Norwich if we want to keep our unbeaten run going."

City may have emerged victorious on each of the three occasions they have met the Canaries since regaining Championship status two seasons ago, but Carey insists that record will count for nothing against opponents who are experiencing a new lease of life under new management.

Since Bryan Gunn replaced Glenn Roeder in the Carrow Road hot-seat, the East Anglian club has undergone a notable revival, remaining unbeaten in four games and stunning league leaders Wolves when escaping Molineux with a 3-3 draw in midweek.

Carey added: "For whatever reason, a change of manager always seems to pull teams into shape and that's what's happened at Norwich. It's going to be a much more difficult game than it might have been a few weeks ago.

"Bryan Gunn has brought them to life and they're playing some good football and scoring a lot of goals all of a sudden.

"I reckon it will be a great game of football to watch but, hopefully, there won't be too many goals going in at our end of the pitch."

In common with many clubs which have dropped out of the Premier League and fallen on hard times, Norwich have struggled to rediscover past glories.

Since relinquishing their top-flight status three and a half years ago, Norwich have made a shocking total of 40 loan signings.

Yet Carey remains surprised by their poor showing so far this season. He explained: "I thought they played some great football and were one of the best teams we saw at Ashton Gate last year.

"I expected them to be a real force and to be pushing for promotion this time around, but it hasn't turned out that way. I was surprised at how poor they were when we beat them earlier this season – they looked a shadow of the team we had seen before."

Acknowledging the sporting axiom that winning breeds confidence, Carey insists he and his team-mates possess the wherewithal to go one better than Wolves and inflict defeat upon the Canaries in their own backyard.

He said: "We've turned the corner and we're enjoying chasing the teams above us. If we can get ourselves into the top six, I'm confident we can stay there."