Smith forced to favour necessity over ideology in City's bid to survive

The Canaries host Burnley at Carrow Road this afternoon hoping to find three points that will keep their faint hopes of survival alive.

Everton's surprise victory over Manchester United on Saturday squashed the potential for City to move within four points of them. Instead, it leaves them languishing at the bottom of the table 10 points behind the Toffees.

Whilst the feeling from the terraces is that any great escape would now take a miracle, Smith and his squad will have to remain believers for as long as it’s mathematically possible.

So far, it has felt like Smith will be exonerated should Norwich get relegated this season.

But, after Norwich’s goalless draw against Brighton last Saturday, Smith has been on the receiving end of some criticism about City’s lack of identity.

Five months since he joined the club, some supporters feel his handwriting is yet to be visible on the side.

When those concerns over the playing identity from the stands were raised at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Smith confessed it was difficult to implement a playing style in during a relegation battle.

“It’s very difficult because we’re in the Premier League at the moment. My remit is to keep us in the division,” Smith said.

“In terms of style of play, we’ve not brought any players in since I’ve been here. Myself, Craig (Shakespeare) and Liam (Bramley) are working with the players we’ve got and trying to use the attributes that they’ve got in the best possible way.

“To win football games in this league is tough.”

That point about identity feeds into the apathy some fans are feeling at present.

Given today’s game against Burnley will see Norwich enjoy more possession, Smith will be demanding an improvement on last week’s offering with the ball.

Although it is necessity over ideology for the City head coach at present, he remains wedded to some principles that he expects to see from his team regardless of the opponent and their approach.

“There are non-negotiables that I will always want,” Smith said.

“Without the ball, I think we’ve become a more organised team but with the ball, I feel can play a little bit quicker. Our tempo has been a little bit slow and that’s meaning we are creating too many mistakes and giving the ball away cheaply in our own half.

“In this league, that can punish you.”

If Norwich are to gain a valuable three points against Sean Dyche’s men on Sunday, then their attacking output will have to be vastly improved compared to last weekend.

Norwich failed to record a single shot on target against out of form Brighton, with Teemu Pukki incredibly isolated.

That is an area Smith has been seeking to address in training this week.

“We’ve been working on how we build up, how we create and how we finish,” City’s boss said.

“It’s no secret that we haven’t scored enough goals this season. I feel we have created better chances but we haven’t been as clinical as we should be.

“Our work has been around the create stage and how we keep creating better chances. What are our weapons in a game that are going to help us create and score goals? That’s what we’ve been working on this week.”

Could Jonathan Rowe be the answer to Norwich City's attacking struggles? (Image: ©Focus Images Limitedwww.focus-images.co.uk+44 7813 022858)

The secret to unlocking the attacking potential may lie with 18-year-old winger Jonathan Rowe, who has impressed with a number of cameos from the bench.

Post-match last week, Smith revealed he had rejected advice from his coaching staff to start the teenager.

But he isn’t afraid to unleash Rowe against Burnley today.

“I’m very inclusive in having my staff’s views. I want them and I want to take all the information in before I make a decision.

“Jon’s performances from the bench have been really good so far. I have got to judge whether he can do it from the start,” he said.

“He is growing. His performances in training have been better. That is the be all and end all. If I think he is ready, he will go in.”