The Final Stretch

The Final Stretch Of The Season

“Everybody is pulling in the right direction”. That is the message that is coming out of the Norwich camp from the likes of manager Chris Hughton and player Robert Snodgrass. A relieving message for many of the City fans who would have been sincerely concerned that there is growing unrest behind the scenes at Colney training ground.

After putting in three fantastic performances against Man City, West Ham and Tottenham and yielding four points, Norwich City can start to believe again that safety is where they shall lie after 38 games.

With key men Tettey and Howson regaining fitness and the fantastic partnership of Yobo and Bassong forming, Norwich should be a difficult team to face in the last 11 games of this season.

The main element going into the final stretch of the season is confidence. That psychological edge could be the difference of winning matches or coming away with a draw.

As fans ponder on the upcoming fixtures the main concern is in the attack. Star striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel has failed to score in the league since the opening day of the season. Alongside Gary Hooper who hasn’t contributed a goal in nine games. If the two regain their confidence and start firing on all cylinders that could be the difference between safety and relegation.

Looking at the form table, Norwich are sitting in 11th just below Manchester United. An encouraging sight when five fellow struggling teams are below them. The ability to pick up wins is going to be crucial over the next few weeks, home and away.

Looking over the fixture list, the next seven games are where the season is going to be decided for Norwich City. Ties like (h) to Stoke and (h) to Sunderland are where you can demonstrate your ability to pick up wins to stay in the league.

Norwich have arguably the toughest run in going into the final four games of the season yet no game is without its chance and those games cannot be discarded. A team with the will and desire will create chances and if the strikers regain their confidence, upsets against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United are not beyond comprehension.

I would hope as a fan that Norwich will build on the victory against Tottenham and emulate West Ham’s recent winning streak but as a neutral I would argue that Norwich City have as good a chance as any to secure the rights to call themselves a Premier League team next season.