Norwich head coach David Wagner singled out Kenny McLean for praise after watching his side continue their Championship play-off bid with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Carrow Road.

Josh Sargent’s late goal earned the Canaries a narrow win and while Wagner was delighted with the American’s display, he felt it was McLean’s contribution that should be highlighted.

He said: “When Kenny woke up on Thursday he was struggling to walk and he was not able to train on Thursday or Friday.

“He had stiffness in the back and full credit to him and our medical staff that he was able to play. He is a top, top professional who does everything he can to be successful, a proper Scottish braveheart!

“Josh also turned in top performance, not just with the goal but the way he linked play and worked hard to close them down.”

Wagner added: “We were up against a good, well-organised team and had to work hard to break them down.

“But I thought it was a deserved win, we created a lot of good chances and also defended really well, restricting them to very few box entries. I was very pleased with the performance and now we have to keep it going.”

The game was settled by an 81st-minute goal from Sargent, who scored for the seventh successive home game and took his tally to 11 in an injury-hit campaign overall.

The USA international shrugged off the attentions of two Sunderland defenders when a Ben Gibson cross came over and when they ball bounced kindly for him swivelled and fired home from close range.

It was a deserved goal for the Canaries who had carved out the better chances.

Visiting substitute Abdoullah Ba hit the woodwork just before the Norwich winner but the hosts were on the front foot for most of the game and goalkeeper Anthony Patterson made a number of good saves to keep them out until nine minutes from time.

The defeat left Sunderland nine points adrift of the top six but interim head coach Mike Dodds isn’t giving up on the play-offs just yet.

He said: “I look back to this time last season when I think we were in a very similar position to where we find ourselves now.

“Then we went on an unbelievable run to take it to the final game of the season and there’s no reason why we can’t do that again.

“I look at the players and I don’t see a group that are giving up on it. They are a group who are really close to turning it around and sooner or later I believe the tide will turn.

“We have now got two matches coming up against two of the best teams in the league and we are really looking forward to it.”

As for the game itself, he added: “Norwich are a really good side, especially at home, and I thought for long spells we nullified their threat, even though we have to do better with their goal.

“Going forward we got into some good positions but we have a lot better quality in the final third than we showed.

“I have got faith in the players but when we got in their area we were a bit tense and erratic.”

Kenny McLean savoured a special moment in his career after his last-gasp winner earned Scotland a crucial three Euro 2024 qualifying points from a 2-1 victory in Norway.

McLean struck a composed 89th-minute finish with his right foot 10 minutes after coming off the bench and two minutes after Lyndon Dykes had cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 61st-minute opener from the penalty spot.

Left midfielder McLean said: “It was pretty special, a really good moment for everyone involved and obviously for the fans that travelled – it was amazing, I can hear them outside now.

“Obviously I have only had the San Marino goal previously so I am delighted to score such a meaningful goal.

“I don’t know if I was too happy with Dykesy – setting me up on my right – but thankfully it worked. It doesn’t come out much but thankfully it paid off.”

McLean was part of a triple change from manager Steve Clarke which also saw Billy Gilmour and Stuart Armstrong come on, after Liam Cooper had earlier replaced the fatigued Kieran Tierney.

The Norwich player said: “The manager is constantly going about the squad, it’s a squad game and that’s what we are always about.

“The majority of times we make four or five subs so everyone needs to be ready and thankfully the lads that came on were.

“We have worked for the last couple of weeks together, we had the camp in Spain and worked hard throughout, so to get the rewards is excellent.”

Dykes was delighted with his goal and assist after a challenging night up front on his own in temperatures of about 30 degrees at kick-off.

The QPR striker said: “It was a tough game. They played well. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to play but I was waiting for that opportunity all night and I was just happy to see it go in.

“It’s a hard position sometimes, it doesn’t always go your way. Balls were coming up to me, flying everywhere and they were probably getting the better of me. But I was trying to keep my head and wait for the opportunity.

“I have to keep rolling on and hopefully when the chances come, they go in because the ball rolling in that goal was the slowest thing I have ever seen in my life and I was having a heart attack. I was just happy to see it go over the line.

“And obviously when Kenny scored, it was the icing on the cake.”

Scotland extended their lead at the top of Group A but face a quick turnaround before Tuesday’s visit of Georgia.

McLean said: “It was a massive step for us in the group but we have a lot of work to do and we have a game in a few days.

“We will enjoy this now but we need to go and recover. Nobody wants to hear it but that’s what we have to do.”