While Gilmour insisted he can come back stronger from his difficult season on loan, he admitted the experience was too much to take for his family who made the decision to stay away from Carrow Road.
“It was a difficult season,” said Gilmour. “I went there with the idea of trying to play my best and some games it worked and some games it didn’t, so I took some experience from that and it will help me going forward.”
Asked about the abuse he suffered, Gilmour added: “It’s the fans’ opinion. They come to watch games and pay for their ticket and they shout, but that has happened and it wasn’t nice to hear. I gave it my all and tried to work hard every game.
“Of course, it’s hard (not to let it get to you). It was also hard for my family. When you’ve got family in the stands and they’re shouting that it’s never nice, but I would just get my head down. I know what I’m good at, I’ll work hard on the field and try to get back.”
Gilmour was pictured with his father, Billy Sr, and mum Carrie holding the Norwich scarf when he first joined the club on loan. Asked how they coped with seeing him targeted, the former Rangers youngster said: “Of course it’s not nice. They stopped coming to the games, so it wasn’t nice. They weren’t coming down for games at the weekend, just staying in the house.
“I just got my head down and it worked. We had a good team, good players in the changing-room who all stuck by each other. It was tough, coming towards the end of the season, we all knew that. So I just had to get my head down, work hard in training and try to perform at the weekend.”
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