Norwich City manager Philippe Clement pinpointed brief moments of squad doubt as the catalyst for Saturday’s dramatic 4-3 Championship defeat at Middlesbrough.
The head coach watched his side surrender an early lead at the Riverside Stadium before defensive frailties extended their barren run to 15 games without a clean sheet. Despite rotating his starting lineup, Clement’s side struggled initially against a dangerous Middlesbrough attacking unit.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, Clement revealed his frustration at how quickly the momentum shifted after Mohamed Toure’s opening goal. “For me the biggest disappointment about today was not that goal against but two or three minutes after I saw two or three players starting to doubt, not aggressive enough or brave enough and we didn’t show the football we can play,” he said.
Jacob Wright Sparks Riverside Revival
Substitute Jacob Wright delivered a transformative second-half display to prove Norwich possess the tactical depth needed for a promotion push. The midfielder assisted Jovon Makama and scored the equaliser to drag the visitors level from 3-1 down.
Clement insisted his squad retains the required versatility. “You need to have different layers. I explained it to the team also like that. You cannot have one playing style offensively, defensively, and then have the ambitions that this club has. You need to have the different layers in your team to play different kind of games and to face everything that you can face in football,” the manager told The Pink Un.
Norwich must now resolve their defensive vulnerabilities before travelling to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Thursday.
