Alex Neil: Playoffs "most likely" for Norwich City

Alex Neil has admitted that Norwich City will "most likely" need to go through the playoffs to stand a chance of securing promotion to the Premier League.

The Canaries slipped from second to fourth following their 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the Championship this evening, which lifted Aitor Karanka's side back to the top of the table.

The manager told BBC Sport: "The playoffs look most likely for us now but you never know in football. What we have to do is refocus and win the next two games.

"I thought the first 15 minutes cost us the match. Ultimately we didn't really do enough. Once they scored, we were the dominant team but Middlesbrough defended well. We had chances but we'd have liked to have had more."

Norwich now sit two points behind Boro, while second-placed Bournemouth and Watford in third both have games in hand.