Norwich's success this season means more to Chris Martin than most, as Chris Burton found out.
As part of skysports.com's League One Spotlight, Chris Burton catches up with Norwich's striking starlet Chris Martin.
There can be few greater satisfactions in life than turning out for the club you supported as a boy.
I'm sure the more filthier-minded of you could probably offer up a few possibilities, but let's try and keep things respectable - this is a website for all the family remember.
Speaking for myself, I would quite happily offer any number of limbs - preferably not the legs as they could come in quite handy - in exchange for an opportunity to turn out for my team of choice.
As a supporter, it is those who have been born and raised with the colours of our club running through their veins that hold the fondest place in our heart.
They are one of us. They know how we feel on Saturday evening after another insipid performance on home soil, or how exhilarating it can be to get one over on local rivals.
It is difficult for 'outsiders' to buy into these emotions, with many just happy to pick up their cheque every month and offer the bare minimum on the field.
Not the local boy though. He will sweat blood for the cause, run through brick walls and enact just about every other tired cliché you care to come up with.
These are the real idols to your everyday man on the street, because they have achieved the ultimate dream.
Your David Beckhams and Wayne Rooneys are nothing compared to these men. They may be national icons, but could you care less how they get on every weekend? Do their performances have any direct impact on your life? No, not really.
We might feel different if our own clubs somehow - I'm not sure how - managed to manipulate time and space and were in a position to bring such superstars on board, but that is unlikely to happen any time soon.
So, away from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, home-grown products are the bread and butter which help to keep things ticking over.
A boy plucked from the local playing fields after demonstrating an ounce of talent could go on to become the heart and soul of the club, or at least provide a substantial pay day once he is offloaded to a top flight side with more money than sense.
These locals are what football is all about, and those who go on to play starring roles for their home-town clubs will become legends in their own backyard.
Dreams
One youngster hoping to one day don such a crown is Norwich striker Chris Martin - and with a name like that the omens look good (Coldplay, for anyone needing a clue).
The hot-shot frontman has risen to the fore at Carrow Road this season, helping to fire the Canaries to the top of League One, establishing quite a reputation along the way.
A Norfolk native, the 21-year-old always dreamt that one day he would get the chance to celebrate in front of The Barclay - and he is living prove that dreams do come true.
Martin has been on the books at Norwich since he was in short trousers and, having penned a new contract with the club in January, admits he could not be happier with the way things are going at the moment.
"I'm delighted with it, playing for Norwich City," he told
skysports.com's Chris Burton.
"That's where I want to play my football, I have said that all along. I want to play my football at Carrow Road and I was delighted when the manager showed faith in me and wanted me to sign for another three-and-a-half years.
"I have been here for so long that it means everything to me. A lot of my friends are Norwich fans as well so they are obviously rooting for me and I am doing my best to help them out as well.
"I have been here 11 years now, so you become accustomed to trying to do well for them."
This is Martin's first full season as a regular starter for the Canaries, with the club having sent him on loan to Luton Town last year in an effort to aid his development.
His time spent with the Hatters was certainly beneficial - with a victorious, goalscoring outing at Wembley in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final thrown into the mix for good measure.
He returned to Norwich over the summer all the more determined to succeed and, after a shaky start to the campaign, is now reaping the rewards of the experience he picked up during his time at Kenilworth Road.
"It was my first full season as a professional and I got to play 50-odd games down at Luton under Mick Harford, who was a great manager for me," added Martin.
"That gave me a lot of confidence, knowing I was going to play most of the time. I really enjoyed it and it gave me vital experience.
Determined
"I have used that early on this season when I was out of favour. I started the first game of the season and then found it tough to get back into the team. I didn't start another game until October time, a few months into the season, but I understood that I needed to work hard and keep doing the things I was doing.
"If I got a chance I was determined to take it and luckily enough I got the chance to do that."
The opening game of the 2009/10 campaign was a disappointment for all concerned with Norwich, not just Martin.
A 7-1 hammering at the hands of near neighbours Colchester United did not bode well, and the club have shown commendable resilience to recover from such a disastrous start.
"I think it was a bit of a wake-up call for a lot of people," said Martin.
"It resulted in the new manager (Paul Lambert) coming in and he deserves a lot of the credit for the way he has turned it around.
"But as players we have also taken it upon ourselves to turn things around. It was a big wake-up call first game of the season and from there we haven't really looked back.
"It was a very strange result, going down 7-1 at home. Especially the way we had played in pre-season, because we had a very good pre-season.
"It was a bit of a shock, to the players as much as the fans, but we have shown now that we have good character and we have come back from it."
The Canaries have bounced back in style this term, with their rise to the third tier summit coming on the back of 14 wins in 17 league games.
All appears to be going swimmingly once more, with the club now living up to their billing as pre-season promotion favourites.
"We have been on a brilliant run and it has been a credit to us for the way we have played and dug in. Hopefully it will continue," said Martin, with fingers firmly crossed.
Spirit
"As a group of lads, and with the gaffer, we have taken it upon ourselves to go out and perform in every game.
"It shows great spirit, especially in a couple of recent games when we have come from behind to win. Everything is going very well at the moment, but we know there is still a long way to go.
"Everybody knows the quality of the teams that are behind us - Leeds, Charlton, Colchester are all there or thereabouts. We know we can't afford to slip up because they will be doing all they can to try and catch us."
There is a growing belief sweeping around Norwich that a title-winning campaign now beckons.
Martin is keen to quell such talk, with a lot of hard work to be done before anyone gets their hands on any silverware, and the youngster insists securing promotion remains the only target for those of a yellow and green persuasion.
"Promotion first and foremost, and then we will go from there," he said on possible targets.
"We can't get complacent because there is still a long way to go. I think we still have 16 games in the league so there are a lot of points to play for and a lot of time for us to slip up if we don't keep doing the things we have been doing of late. I'm sure we won't allow ourselves to lose concentration."
Martin also knows that, even with 18 goals to his name this season, he cannot afford to rest on his laurels if he intends to be involved in a promotion-winning party.
Norwich have assembled a more than useful squad under the careful guidance of Lambert and everyone has been made well aware by the Scottish tactician that their place in the side is far from guaranteed.
"All managers need to be like that," said Martin.
"But we know we can't let up because we have got quality players in the squad who can come in and replace us.
"We know the manager will do that, so if we don't concentrate on our performance as much as we should or have a bad day, we know the manager can quite easily change it.
"It wouldn't be changing it for changing's sake, because he can actually bring quality players off the bench to replace us."
