Former Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers star Chris Sutton believes that his old team must pick up all three points this weekend as the Canaries host Queens Park Rangers.
Norwich have been on a turgid run of form in recent weeks, picking up four defeats from their last five outings in the Championship, with David Wagner’s side sitting merely six places above the relegation zone and six points off the promotion spots.
The Norfolk-based club had been in a race for the top six early in the campaign but a horrific spell of form in October and November caused Wagner’s men to drop to 20th.
Following an embarrassing 3-1 defeat at Carrow Road against Blackburn Rovers three weeks ago, it was reported by Pink Un that the German’s time in charge looked all but over, with fans viciously voicing their displeasure upon the referee’s final whistle.
Nevertheless, a 3-2 victory away at Cardiff City eased some pressure off the former Huddersfield Town boss heading into the international break. Wagner will be in the dugout this weekend once more as second-tier strugglers QPR come to town.
However, former Norwich star centre-forward Chris Sutton believes the scenes at Carrow Road could get ugly this weekend should the hosts fail to pick up all three points.
Writing in his column for Pink Un, the pundit said [quotes via Football League World]:
“Make no mistake, Norwich City’s meeting with QPR this weekend is an absolute must-win for David Wagner.
“Canaries fans have already made their mind up on the German, and despite a 3-2 win over Cardiff prior to the international break, things will get ugly as soon as there’s a whiff of another negative run of form.”
Sutton also admitted that he understands new sporting director Ben Knapper’s decision to stick with Wagner, having started his role during the international period:
“It’s understandable that new sporting director Ben Knapper decided to take some time with Wagner rather than sacking him at the first opportunity, as many were hoping he would.
“He’ll have taken advice from those already at the club, the outgoing Stuart Webber and others in the game, but he needs time to make his own mind up and decide if they’re a good fit when in the building at Colney.”
Writer’s View
Picking up three points is a must for Norwich City this weekend. While the win against Cardiff City was impressive, the Canaries need to add to that result in order to build up some steam while chasing the rest of the promotion pack.
On the flip side, failure to be victorious in front of the home fans against the second-worst side in the league could all but spell the end of Wagner’s tenure in the dugout.
Deputy Head of Writing
