The Canaries head to Rotherham United’s New York Stadium this afternoon in a bid to extend their unbeaten start to the season, having collected 10 points from their first four Championship games.
The match is City’s last for two weeks, with a number of players departing to join up with nations across the globe in qualifying fixtures and friendlies.
Wagner wants his charges to seal their bright start with another win on the road, after consecutive away victories at Huddersfield Town and Bristol City.
“During pre-season I already had the feeling something was growing quite quick,” he said at his pre-match press call. “It’s been good so far, and now we’d like to finish on a high before the international break.
“This is so, so important for us, to continue what we’ve done performance-wise, and to be hungry and greedy for the next win.”
The Yorkshire side won’t make it easy, however. They’ve collected only one point so far but that doesn’t tell the full story according to Wagner.
“Rotherham at home and Rotherham away is two different teams,” the German continued. “At home they are top. Physically energetic, legs, very brave as well.
“The two home games they had against Blackburn and Leicester were top, super competitive, and they could have won both for sure.
“We are aware of what we have to expect. It’s a very direct, very physical side, and we have to be ready for the fight, ready for the hard yards, ready for the physical battle.
“I’m very happy to hear that we have sold out our away allocation. We have more than 2,000 away supporters with us, which we need for sure.
“But the guys have shown that they can fight as well, and on Saturday it’s fight first. Then we have to make sure we make a lot of good decisions with the ball as well.
“I have every trust and belief in my players and in our supporters that they will invest everything to get a win.
“This is our idea. We know everything about Rotherham, but it’s about us. We have to make sure that we play to our strengths, as we have done in the past.
“It makes sense, after what the players have done in the first six competitive games, that they keep going and believing in their own strengths, even if we absolutely respect Rotherham.”
Norwich will be faced with a familiar face when they make the 156-mile trip, after Jordan Hugill completed a move to the Millers in January.
Wagner only worked with Hugill, but was a big fan before sanctioning his departure over a likely lack of game time.
The 31-year-old has scored five goals in 24 appearances since moving back up north, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by his former head coach, who praised a number of Hugill’s attributes before reuniting.
The 51-year-old said of the Middlesbrough native: “I wish him all the best, apart from on Saturday. I think Rotherham are over the moon with this signing.
“He has done a great job so far, last season and at the start of this season. He fits this style like no other, because he is this physical, hard-working striker. I really like this.
“He chases every opponent every single second, and works very hard for the team. This is what Rotherham is all about. This is a team which works together, and Jordan fits this team very well.”
Wagner will be without his own talismanic striker after Josh Sargent injured multiple ankle ligaments in that Huddersfield win, while idiosyncratic winger Onel Hernandez misses out with a broken hand.
City are set to be boosted by the returns of Borja Sainz, Jacob Sorensen and Hernandez the other side of the break, however, and their boss will hope they return to a team with 13 points in the bag.
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