 After Bryan Gunn's appointment as Norwich manager, Lappin made his first appearance for Norwich's first team in 16 months on 21 March 2009, in a 1–1 draw against Birmingham City at St Andrew's.Although his performances were not enough to prevent the club being relegated to League One, Lappin signed a two-year contract extension with the club in June 2009.When Paul Lambert took over as Norwich manager early in 2009–10, Lappin began to feature more regularly and ended up starting 42 league games, more than any other player, even captaining the side in a Football League Trophy match with Brentford when Grant Holt and Gary Doherty were both absent.