Alex Neil: 'Aston Villa showdown is must-win game'

Norwich City manager Alex Neil has admitted that Monday's meeting with relegation rivals Aston Villa is a "must-win" clash for his side.

The Canaries currently sit just outside the bottom three on goal difference alone following their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day, while Villa are nine points further behind at the foot of the table.

Neil did stress that nothing would be decided on Monday, but suggested that victory or defeat could set the tone one way or another for the second half of the season.

"There are games in and about you that you've got to win, so I would probably call it a must-win, even though I don't think anything's going to be determined by this particular game," Neil told reporters.

"However, three points against them certainly makes things a lot better. It's a snowball effect between now and the end of the season. Every game becomes bigger if you don't win games.

"It will be interesting to see how we respond but other teams will have to do it as well, it's not as if it's just us. It's not as if they're called upon to do it all the time, it's a one-off and we need to get ourselves ready because it's an important game for us."

The Canaries have won just one of their last six Premier League matches.