Norwich City paint Carrow Road away dressing room pink - BBC Sport
After Norwich City paint their away dressing room pink, BBC Sport explores what effect it could have on their opponents.
Last updated on .From the section Norwich

"Marginal gains" - two words that have become sporting jargon in recent years.

But one Championship club have taken a highly unusual step to try to gain an edge on their opponents.

Norwich City have painted the away dressing room "deep pink", a colour that is said to lower testosterone levels and have a calming effect on people.

The club has declined to comment, although supporters were told about the move at a fans' forum on Thursday.

"Pink has an effect, not because it is pink, but because it's linked to childhood experiences," said Dr Alexander Latinjak, a lecturer in sport psychology at the University of Suffolk.

"If it is true that pink lowers testosterone levels then the coach should know exactly how to use that advantage tactically."

Painting the opposition's dressing room pink is not a completely novel idea though - the University of Iowa have previously done it in an attempt to give their American football team the upper hand on their visitors.

In their two games at Carrow Road this season, Norwich have lost 4-3 to West Bromwich Albion and beaten League Two side Stevenage 3-1 in the Carabao Cup, so the jury is out on whether the move is paying off.

"I personally wouldn't have spent the time bothering to change the locker room colour. There are a lot of things you do before you do that," Dr Latinjak told BBC Sport.

"Now that teams will know about the pink locker room, they could take counter measures to ensure higher testosterone levels.

"It might even be that players from other teams have some fun - they could go in there all tense but start smiling, and smiling is linked to an improvement in performance."