Norwich City captain Kenny McLean has defended head coach David Wagner after today’s defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers, pinning the blame on the players instead.
The Canaries were dominated from start to finish this afternoon at Carrow Road, with the visitors flying into a two-goal lead with quarter of an hour gone thanks to goals from Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics.
Szmodics bagged his brace just four minutes after the interval to seal the victory for the Lancashire club. A late goal from Gabriel Sala in stoppage time was nothing but a mere consolation for Wagner’s side who dropped to 17th in the table this weekend.
Pressure is now rapidly mounting on the former Huddersfield Town head coach, with games against Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers and Watford on the horizon before November draws to a close.
Supporters inside the ground voiced their displeasure with the result, the players, and the head coach, following the referee’s full-time whistle but club skipper McLean has defended Wagner’s corner.
Speaking after the game, the Scottish midfielder admitted that the players are behind Norwich’s dip in form, not the manager [quotes via Pink Un]:
“When you see that you’re two down after 15 minutes, that’s unacceptable. That’s why we need to take responsibility. We cannot pass it to him [Wagner].
“There is nobody in the changing room washing their hands with it saying, ‘it wasn’t me, it was the manager’. It’s not going to happen.
“We need to do more. A lot more.”
Despite hopes of a promotion push this season, Norwich City find themselves eight points adrift of the playoff places and closer to the relegation zone.
Writer’s View
If Norwich City’s board don’t take action now, a defeat away in Cardiff next weekend could well be in the final nail in Wagner’s coffin.
Ultimately, McLean can take the blame alongside the rest of the players but managers will always be held responsible when a side is struggling, thus so many lose their jobs season from season.
Deputy Head of Writing
