In the end, Norwich City bowed out of the Premier League not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Three years in the top flight were brought to a crushing conclusion not on a dramatic day at Carrow Road, but on a wet Wednesday night when the Canaries were not even playing.

Sunderland's 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion last night consigned Norwich City to the Championship, after a season which promised so much, but delivered only heartache for the yellow army.

Had Sunderland lost then the Canaries still had a chance. They would have had to beat Arsenal at Carrow Road on Sunday and hope Swansea sunk Sunderland on the same day.

It wasn't to be, with one of the Black Cats' goals scored by former Ipswich Town player Jack Colback.

City supporters now face the prospect of trips to play the likes of Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brentford, rather than to Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

At The Murderers pub in the city, some die-hard fans settled in to watch the Sunderland and West Brom game - with the pints initially bought to steady their nerves soon being used to drown their sorrows.

Richard Bomford, 25, of St Stephens Street, said he had decided to watch the Sunderland match in the pub because he could not quite bring himself to give up hope - until the final whistle.

He said: 'There's no real words to describe this season. This is what it's like to be a Norwich supporter - highs and lows.

'It was just before Christmas that I realised we were in big trouble. We should have got rid of Chris Hughton then. I don't know what the board were thinking in waiting.'

He said he would like to see Neil Adams made permanent manager and hoped youngsters such as Josh Murphy would be given a chance.

Jamie Hepher, 22, who lives in the city centre, said Hughton should have been sacked in January. He said: 'If we can keep our players then I think we have got a chance of coming back up. The football Neil Adams has got us playing is better, but I'd like to see Malky Mackay as manager.'

He added at least Norwich could look forward to beating Ipswich again next season.

• What's your view on what went wrong for Norwich City this season? Write, giving full contact details, to Letters Editor, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE. 10 Tweets to keep you smiling