Jonny Howson believes the meteoric rise of John Ruddy from being on-loan at Stockport to an England call-up is an inspiration to everyone at Norwich.
Midfield man enjoyed a good first season in the Premier League
Jonny Howson believes the meteoric rise of John Ruddy from being on-loan at Stockport to an England call-up is an inspiration to everyone at Norwich.
The goalkeeper started his career with Cambridge and moved to Everton aged 18, but spent most of his five years at Goodison Park on loan at places like Wrexham, Crewe and Motherwell before joining Norwich in July 2010.
An impressive career at the Canaries, which involved promotion to the Premier League and then a 12th-place finish, earned him a place in the England squad for Euro 2012 this summer.
But a broken finger ruled him out of taking his place on the plane to Poland and Ukraine and so he was left to watch events unfold on the TV.
And Howson, who joined from Leeds in January, points to his team-mate's fairy tale past few seasons as giving hope to all young footballers at the club.
Terrific season
"I enjoyed it all last season and just want more," said the 24-year-old on his first taste of the Premier League, to the
Norwich Evening News.
"If you are looking, you only have to look at John Ruddy and what he's done.
"He was unfortunate that he didn't actually go to the Euros with his injury he picked up in training. But he had a terrific season and was rewarded for it at the end of the season.
"Who knows? You never know what happens in football but first and foremost it's concentrating on Norwich and trying to get in the side for that first game of the season.
"I found it quite, I wouldn't like to say easy, to settle in but when you've got the players around like we have, they make life on and off the pitch a bit easier because they ease you into it.
"It was very welcoming and it just makes you settle into it straightaway, so it was nice, that aspect, the way the lads have been.
"On the football side, it was something I wanted to do and was looking forward to and when I got the chance it was a case of making the most of it.
"But when you've got the players around that we have, it's a massive help when you can rely on someone who's there when you maybe haven't got that sharpness, or it does take you that couple of games to get up to the speed of it."
