The Canaries were denied a first win back in the top flight against Stoke on Sunday when Kenwyne Jones headed in a stoppage-time equaliser at Carrow Road, but De Laet insists Paul Lambert's men should not be downhearted. The Belgian - who played for Stoke before joining United in January 2009 - had nodded Norwich into a first-half lead, but admitted the home side were made to pay for "switching off" under Stoke's late bombardment. For most teams, a trip to Stamford Bridge is seen as a write-off - but De Laet firmly believes the Canaries should have no fear of the challenge ahead. "I think we can compete, we have shown we can play football and have deserved more from these two games," said De Laet, who conceded a somewhat harsh penalty in last weekend's 1-1 draw at Wigan. "The fans saw how hard we worked, even when we went down to 10 men they still got behind us and kept believing in us. "We can get a lot points here. It is far away for a lot of the teams, nobody likes to come here and with the crowd, it is hostile. "If we can be strong like we were against Stoke and with the football we can play, then I know we are going to win more games." De Laet added: "When you get penalty decisions go against you like we have in the last two matches, then you have to show character to come back from that. "Now we will be looking to the Chelsea game and see how we react. "We have got to be right in our heads for Chelsea, to do what we did against Stoke, and try to keep a clean sheet. "If we dwell on things, and go into the Chelsea game like that, then you have got no chance. "We have got to put this behind us, it is a point again on the board and we have just got to go from there next week." De Laet is hopeful a full season in the Premier League with Norwich can only serve him well when he eventually returns to Old Trafford to battle for a place in Ferguson's side. "The [United] reserve team coach calls me most of the time, but I don't know if United sent someone out to watch against Stoke, or will next week," he said. "They will keep in touch and hopefully I can do well for Norwich." De Laet added: "A clean sheet at Chelsea would be nice - I bet Sir Alex calls me then!" Lambert made half-a-dozen changes against Stoke, and is expected to mix things up again in Tuesday's League Cup game against MK Dons. "The squad is big enough to change it around and that is what I will do," he said. "If we are in it then we have to try to win the game - that is the way we have always viewed things."
