Grant Holt never acclaimed, says Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert

Three-time Canaries player of the season Holt is set to face them for the first time since his £2m move from Carrow Road to Wigan in the summer.

Holt scored 78 goals in 168 games – winning successive promotions from League One to the Premier League under Lambert at Norwich. His loan move to Villa in January handed him a chance for a swift reunion at Villa Park tomorrow.

Lambert said: "He scored goal after goal and became a big, big player and he probably never really got the credit he deserved for what he did for the club.

"I think somebody like Grant you miss when he's gone. I don't know the circumstances about how he left, but for me what he did for that club was fantastic."

After his bitter departure from the Canaries in 2012, Lambert dismissed any excitement about facing Norwich. "I never look back on it," said Lambert, unbeaten in four meetings with his old club.

"It's gone. What happened happened and I don't hold any grudge with Norwich City. It's not something I think about anymore. It's gone."