Canaries chief keen to build on Linnets' link-up

The Linnets have young City keeper Archie Mair on loan for the season, while flying winger Simon Power’s second temporary spell at The Walks was only interrupted when he was sold to Harrogate Town last month.

Webber, City’s sporting director, has been a familiar face in the stands this season, home and away and City fixtures permitting, and says Lynn’s progress up the football pyramid is good for both clubs.

“King’s Lynn is a great club, a great story, what they have managed to do to get to the Conference, fair play to Ian Culverhouse and his staff,” he said. “Obviously Steve (Cleeve) the chairman is a good friend of ours as a club.”

Mair had something of a baptism of fire as Lynn struggled to come to terms with life in the National League following their second promotion in as many years, but he is clearly over the worst of it.

“We are delighted with how Archie has done,” added Webber during a wide-ranging media conference on Tuesday. “It is a great place for a 19-year-old goalkeeper to go and play, in the Conference - he has so many crosses he has to deal with and shots on goal. He is almost getting a crash course in being a goalkeeper in getting hit, and all those sorts of things, on crosses and things like that, so it is brilliant for him.

Simon Power was a hit with King's Lynn Town (Image: Ian Burt Photography)

“We had Simon Power there as well. Simon did great and got his move to the Football League, which is not good for King’s Lynn because they lost a good player, but a really good story for us and for Simon, so we are delighted with that.

Alfie Payne on the ball for King's Lynn Town last season during his loan spell from Norwich City (Image: Ian Burt Photography)

“It is a relationship we want to continue building on. We are grateful for the opportunities they have given to Alfie Payne last year, obviously Simon, and now this year Archie and I am sure they are grateful to us as well for putting players their way.

“And for us, because of our location, we don’t have many opportunities to have these relationships and when we do have one we have got to really look after it and try and build it and make it grow because it is really good for us.

“I think King’s Lynn is a good club, it is a big club. It really surprised me - until I moved to the area I didn’t realise how well supported they are, how passionate their fan base is.

“I think it is also great when they play on a different date to Norwich I’d go up there and see lots of Norwich fans as well, so I think it is really important for our area that we have got another club that are on the map a little bit and I know they have ambitions to try to get into the Football League in time as well and if we can support them on that journey in a really small way that would be great because it ultimately then benefits us and more importantly it benefits the area because our area, if we have another club that young kids can go to and aspire to go to, not just Norwich, then brilliant as well. So I think it is fair play to them - they are doing good things and I hope they stay up this year and I am sure they will go on to bigger and better things.”