Tim Krul: Norwich City's promotion to the Premier League a 'fairytale'
Norwich City's remarkable promotion to the Premier League is a "fairytale", according to goalkeeper Tim Krul.
Former Newcastle United 'keeper Krul joined the Canaries on a free transfer last summer - one of several players the club plucked from obscurity.
The bookies didn't give Norwich a chance of mounting a promotion push this campaign following their 14th placed finish last season, but a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Carrow Road on Saturday evening secured their place in the top flight.
Following the realisation of their achievement, there were emotional scenes as the players lapped up the appreciation of the fans, and Krul says no one could have seen this coming before a ball was kicked last August.
"It's a fairytale. If you'd have told me this in the summer, I would have not believed you," he told ITV News Anglia.
"I've seen a lot in my career, but nights like this, you can't describe how proud I am of the club, of the fans, of the players.
"To be part of something like this, it's just incredible."
Norwich's success has been masterminded by Sporting Director Stuart Webber who was brought to the club two years ago as part of a boardroom restructure.
Eyebrows were raised when he decided to leave Huddersfield Town, who went on to secure promotion that season, to take on the role at Carrow Road but Webber says his judgement has now been vindicated.
"What we achieved at Huddersfield was close to a miracle in footballing terms," he said.
"But, if you get good people with you and you get people working hard, it's unbelievable what you can achieve as a group of people.
"Everything is achievable and I wouldn't have come here if I didn't truly believe we could get this club back to the Premier League."
As he did at Huddersfield, Webber raided Borussia Dortmund to appoint their reserve team boss, with Daniel Farke following David Wagner in making the move to England.
After a difficult first season, some fans even called for Farke to be sacked, but the club stuck with him and are now reaping the rewards.
"When you work for such a big club with big expectations and you want to change the style of play, the work ethic - it takes time," Farke reflected.
"We knew this and we expected it would take several years. But to be there this early is something extraordinary and we can't take this for granted."
Attention will now turn towards who Norwich will try and sign in the summer to give them the best chance of survival.
The club got into financial difficulty after they recruited players on big wages the last time they were in the top flight, and majority shareholder Delia Smith says they won't be splashing the cash again.
"What we've achieved has not been about money," she said.
"We'll just carry on the way we're doing it. We've got a manager who's not afraid to play young talent and we've got a scouting team that can bring in a top striker (Teemu Pukki) with 28 goals who didn't cost a penny!"