Last night’s spirited 1-0 defeat away at Southampton left Norwich City nine points from the Championship play-offs with eight games left to play.
The Canaries remain smack-bang in the middle of the table with 51 points, leaving them with little prospect of being promoted or relegated.
With dreams of a late play-off push having all but disappeared, City will enter their remaining league games with very little materially to play for.
But context is key here. When Philippe Clement was appointed last November, Norwich had nine points from 15 games and looked set for a League One tour next season.
At that point, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of fans would have signed for safety all but secured by mid-March.
Disciplinarian Clement will not allow standards to slip despite City’s comfortable league position, but the final eight games present an interesting challenge.
In a best-case scenario, the Canaries will maintain their red-hot form and bounce into another important summer.
In a worst-case scenario, they fade away, lose to Ipswich Town and allow uncertainty to creep back in.
Here’s how I see the final eight games going:
Charlton Athletic (away) – Saturday, March 21
Currently on 48 points, you’d think that one more win would pretty much secure safety for Charlton.
The quick turnaround from the Southampton game may pose issues for City’s injury-ravaged squad.
Norwich are yet to lose two games on the bounce under Clement and I think that’ll continue.
I’m going with 1-1.
Portsmouth (home) – Friday, April 3
Just one point above the drop zone, Portsmouth will travel to Carrow Road on Good Friday knowing that only three points will pull them clear of the bottom three.
By then, it’s hoped that Oscar Schwartau and Mo Toure will be back available, providing Clement with some welcome attacking options.
I’m going with a 2-1 home win.
Millwall (away) – Monday, April 6
The Den is always a tough place to visit, but City have had some good results there in recent years.
Alex Neil’s side remain well in with a shout of automatic promotion, so this will be another good test to see where Clement’s men are at.
I can see another strong away performance on the cards here.
I’m going with a 1-0 Norwich win.
Ipswich Town (home) – Saturday, April 11
Clement’s first taste of an East Anglian Derby will come in just over three weeks.
Having managed in the Old Firm, the City boss will know what he’s stepping into.
The return of Mr Nunez certainly presents another interesting dynamic.
I’ve had a score drawn in my head for a while now.
I’m going with 1-1.
Bristol City (away) – Saturday, April 18
Finding themselves in a familiar mid-table position, Bristol City face the same sort of end to the season as Norwich.
After a promising opening few months under Gerhard Struber, the Robins have faded into obscurity.
I’ve got City unbeaten so far, but can see a home win here.
1-0 to the Robins.
Derby County (home) – Tuesday, April 21
It’ll be interesting to see whether Derby County’s play-off hopes are still alive by the time Norwich play them in mid-April.
City will be hoping to right the wrongs of the reverse fixture under Liam Manning, where they somehow fell to a 1-0 defeat.
The Canaries should have more players back by then, so I can see another comfortable home win on the cards.
I’m going with a 3-1.
Swansea City (home) – Saturday, April 25
The penultimate game of the season sees City take on Snoop Dogg’s very own Swans at Carrow Road.
I can see it now: sun shining, player-of-the-season presented and a thumping home win.
I’m going with 4-1 to Clement’s men.
Hull City (away) – Saturday, May 2
Should play-off qualification already be confirmed, Hull City could well be on the beach themselves for the final day fixture in early May.
The Tigers look odds-on to finish in the top six after a strong campaign.
There’s a world where neither side has much to play for in this one.
I’m going for a drab 0-0 draw to see out the season.
Conclusion
Should my predictions come to fruition (could you imagine?) City will end the season on 66 points.
That should be enough to secure a top 10 finish which, from a disastrous start to the season, would seem like a huge achievement.
You can’t help but wonder what might have been if Liam Manning was shown his marching orders sooner.
But that’s a story for another day.
