Norwich City players and staff had to change their travel plans for tomorrow’s game against Liverpool at Anfield – with a severe weather warning issued for the North West for today.
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The Canaries flew north last night – after a two hour delay – to avoid the worst of the conditions, and the risk of being stranded if the match goes ahead as scheduled.
“We have had to change our travel plans but that is only appropriate with what we think the forecast will be over the next couple of days,” said manager Chris Hughton yesterday.
Before heading north with his squad, Hughton said: “We will travel tonight because of the thought of not being able to travel as we would like to travel on Friday or, even worse, the thought of a coach journey on Friday which would take a long time.
“We have had to change our planning but we’re hoping once we get there the weather is well enough for the game to be on and put on a performance.”
City trained at Carrow Road yesterday with the benefit of undersoil heating with pitches snow-covered and frozen at Colney.
“It hasn’t affected us so much today because we have trained here at the stadium,” said Hughton. “We weren’t able to get on to the training pitches on Tuesday – we worked in the indoor area. So it has affected us slightly but these are conditions you have to work around the best way you can and use your facilities.
“It was a really good opportunity, being away on Saturday and with the FA Youth Cup game called off on Wednesday, to use the pitch.
“It was important because it was preparation we need going into an important game.”
Forecasters say Liverpool is set to be covered in snow as freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions hit Merseyside today.
They predicted snow would fall in the early hours of this morning and throughout the day with the winter weather likely to cause chaos across the city. More than three to six inches of snow have been forecast, with a substantial amount falling in Liverpool and temperatures plummeting below zero. Motorists and commuters were advised to be prepared for the worst.
A Met Office spokesman said: “Clearly there is the potential for some severe disruption. The snow looks increasingly likely to spread from the south west. Accumulations of more than three to six inches of snow could well occur quite widely, with the risk of 10 inches or more over high ground.”
City’s official supporters’ coaches are scheduled to leave at 7am tomorrow
