Dean Smith certainly ruffled a few feathers after last weekend’s much-publicised post-Blackburn media duties. 

Speaking after the admittedly dismal 2-0 defeat, the under-fire City boss accused fans of setting a ‘narrative’ about his tenure in charge, blasting them for turning against his team at Carrow Road and therefore relishing the prospect of a festive away day at Luton. 

But strip away the hostility, toxicity and, quite frankly, completely uncalled for and unnecessarily personal aggression among large parts of City’s fanbase, and a dose of rationality may actually dictate that just perhaps, Smith was making valid and understandable points.  

Let’s make this clear – last weekend’s defeat was bad. Really bad. 

Smith’s City have been on the receiving end of seemingly relentless criticism this season and, while many performances have often left a considerable amount to be desired, there’s a strong case for arguing that Saturday night horror-show was the worst of the lot by far.  

The players looked timid, passive and, increasingly as the game wore on, petrified of receiving possession and making a potential mistake, inhibiting any form of the creativity we have seen at intermittent - albeit not enough - intervals this season.  

But if a significantly depleted Carrow Road crowd are booing players’ decision-making just 10 minutes into the match, then what exactly do you expect? 

Of course, paying fans are completely entitled to their opinions and, speaking as a season ticket holder who attends virtually every away game, I’d like to think I understand the financial ramifications of following City as well as anyone.  

But off the back of a hard-fought away win at Swansea, and with the team sitting fifth in the Championship table heading into a crucial Christmas period, is such negativity so early on in the game really called for? 

The impatient Carrow Road boo boys, coupled with unsavoury chants calling for Smith to be sacked and branding his football ‘s**t’ – all firmly audible on Sky’s TV coverage – made for deeply unpleasant listening; the grim and conspicuous crescendo of a season where it’s genuinely felt like many fans have been hoping for their criticism of the manager to be vindicated.  

Of course, the football played under Smith has been far from aesthetically-pleasing and undeniably lacked the Emi Buendia-inspired joy that characterised our previous two Championship promotion campaigns under Daniel Farke. 

But even when City had gone nine games unbeaten – including seven wins and impressive away triumphs at Sunderland, Birmingham and Blackpool – the anti-Smith and entertainment-obsessed brigade remained primed and ready to pounce. 

That sentiment manifested itself most visibly last weekend and, after 90 minutes where City’s players were stifled by their own supporters and the manager subjected to deeply unpleasant abuse, Smith snapped. 

The subsequent uproar on social media was understandable and firstly, it’s worth noting that I think Smith was wrong to say what he said. 

But the idea that Smith – who, contrary to what some fans seem to suggest, is human and all things considered, a reasonable bloke trying his best to do a good job – should simply stand there, absorb the abuse and not feel any sort of emotional reaction towards the climax of a season’s worth of ever-intensifying negativity is not fair whatsoever. 

There seems to be a significant element of hypocrisy among the current City fanbase – symptomatic of football supporters more broadly – whereby they feel entitled to throw as much abuse as they want at managers and players but, when those in question hit back, throw their toys out of the pram and act as though they have committed a crime against humanity. 

Again, and given the inevitable fan reaction, I don’t believe that Smith should have made those views public – but I do think the sentiments he expressed were totally natural for a man who’s had to endure so many months of misery from his own team’s supporters, particularly on home Carrow Road soil. 

The writing may now be on the wall for Smith and, even if City were to suddenly go on and win virtually all of their next 10 matches – a feat, let’s not forget, they have already achieved under his guidance this season – it does feel like we’ve reached a point where the overwhelming majority of fans, if they hadn’t already back in August, have unshakeably made up their minds. 

And it is for that reason, no matter how the conclusion of Smith’s tenure plays out, that I will continue to empathise with a manager who was voicing a valid reaction to months of unnecessarily aggressive, and increasingly personal, criticism.