Hughton calls for Norwich consistency

The Premier League strugglers fell to a 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday, leaving them four points clear of the drop zone.

And Hughton, who has helped his side bounce back from a number of heavy defeats this season, feels a run of good results would be enough to lift Norwich clear of danger.

"Our form has been up and down and we haven't had the consistency that we would have liked," he said. "But we are in and around a group of teams that are similar and it's been shown in recent weeks what a win can do and what a defeat does.

"The fact that we are in a position like lots of other teams, we have to make sure we look after our own business, make sure that we do things right and get the results that we need to make life a little bit more comfortable for ourselves."

However, the former Republic of Ireland international stopped short of issuing a points target, claiming that it was more important to focus on individual matches.

"I don't know (how many points we need to survive)," he continued. "The type of division it is this season, there are a couple of teams that have games in hand because they've missed games for whatever reason.

"I think you probably don't want to be putting figures on it. You want to be making sure that you give yourself every chance in every game you play to get points."

Norwich host Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday.