Holt makes history as Norwich finish with a flourish

Norwich City striker Grant Holt was named Player of the Year for a record third time after helping the club win their final Premier League game of the season against Aston Villa.

The 31 year old scored his 15th league goal of the campaign early on, before Simon Jackson added a second. After the game he was presented with the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy, with most of the 26 thousand strong crowd staying on to watch.

Several times the crowd chanted 'England's number nine' in relation to Holt, as calls grow for him to be selected for the national squad for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Holt finished ahead of goalkeeper John Ruddy and midfielder David Fox in the supporters poll, but manager Paul Lambert believes it was a close vote.

'Grant's goalscoring is there for everybody to see, but I'm pretty sure John Ruddy would've run him close. John was excellent again today. A clean sheet which he richly deserves, and big Grant's goalscoring record over the three years has been a phenomenal achievement'.

Sunday's win over Villa meant Norwich finished 12th in their first Premier League campaign in seven seasons, and Lambert was full of praise of his squad's achievements after rising from League One.

'It's been three years of success. It's never easy to get one year, let alone three. But we've had three years on the bounce. And for the effort from the players, I thank them.

'They exceeded our expectations by miles. None of the players had played Premiership football. Some hadn't even played Championship football. To play the way they have this season speaks volumes for their character'.

Meanwhile Lambert wouldn't be drawn on his own future when asked during his post match press conference, if he would still be at Norwich at the start of next season.

'It's a hard one to answer that, because I have a contract here and everyone is doing great in their respective jobs', Lambert said.

'I will get this season out of the road and then I will see what happens and think about what is going on and the achievements we have done, and then we'll see.

Villa fans chanted Lambert's name during the match while calling for current boss Alex McLeish to be sacked, but Lambert said ' Aston Villa is not my team, Norwich is, and the Norwich fans singing is greatly appreciated.

'I understand what is happening at Aston Villa and I can see what is happening with the crowd and the manager which is never nice. I said the same about Steve Kean at Blackburn. But that is out of my control. My control is with Norwich, and the Norwich fans have been brilliant for me'.