The Canaries suffered a first heavy defeat in the Premier League when they were outclassed at the Etihad Stadium. Lambert, though, wants his squad to use the experience as inspiration when they look to avoid what would be a fourth defeat in the last five games. "Manchester City took five off Tottenham away from home, and six at Manchester United, and the way they play, they will do that to a lot of teams this year with the players they have," the Norwich manager said at a news conference. "However, you don't want to go to Manchester City, thinking it is a great day out, get hit by that amount and then think 'well, it is only Manchester City we have played against'. "You want the feeling of having a real disappointment of losing, whether it is five, two or three, it is really sore. "Will it make us better? Hopefully, because we don't want that again." Lambert, however, is not expecting anything other than a firm test of the Canaries' top-flight credentials against a Newcastle side which may have been beaten by both City and Manchester United in recent weeks, but remain in contention for the top four. "Alan [Pardew] has done terrifically well up there when you consider the expectancy level of that club," said Lambert. "It is an extremely tough league - week in, week out - and this one will be no different. "Newcastle have performed really well as a team, but we are at home, so the onus is on us." The Magpies have something of a defensive headache for the trip to Norfolk, with Steven Taylor ruled out for the season following Achilles surgery while Fabricio Coloccini is likely to also be missing with a thigh problem, meaning 21-year-old Hungarian Tamas Kadar could make his first appearance of the season. Lambert, however, does not feel the enforced changes would make Newcastle a soft touch at the back. "I don't know if they will be weakened," he said. "I have had the same problem myself with [Zak] Whitbread, Elliott [Ward] and [Daniel] Ayala out at the same time and we had to put Russell [Martin] in there. "We have coped fine with it and I am sure Newcastle will the same." Lambert added: "The nature of the game is you have to expect injuries and suspensions. "I am pretty sure Alan will trust the lads who he puts in to do a job for him." Norwich have impressed on their return to the top flight, currently sitting comfortably in mid table. However, the Canaries have yet to keep a clean sheet. Lambert is expected to look for defensive reinforcements when the transfer window opens again in January. He said: "The group will need a hand, and it is up to me to try to get them in. "There are one or two areas we need to strengthen, there is no doubt about it, but we will just have to wait and see."
