A failure in the basics and a basic failure – Norwich City's final-day Championship collapse against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, left Timm Klose in no mood to search for positives.

Last season the Canaries lost 5-1 at Hillsborough to end their play-off hopes. This time another thrashing by the same score left City with a sorry end to their 2017-18 campaign, when some positives to take through the summer were much more in demand.

'That was not only painful, it was embarrassing I think,' said captain for the day, Klose. 'It was the last game, beautiful weather, good crowd, we have nothing to play for and you can go out and enjoy the game.

'And when you have to go out like that, it doesn't mean you have to stop fighting and taking care of the ball. We didn't do it at all, and that's why we deserved to go down like that. It was school kids against adults. Mistakes happen, it's just how you react – and we didn't do it at all.

'It starts with the first goal. We knew exactly what they were going to do. Back post all the time to (Atdhe) Nuhiu. And the second one, OK it's unlucky.

'From there we were good in the game and controlled it – and they didn't even know how they were in front. We then think we could get back into it and created a lot of chances, but all of a sudden there was nothing in front of the goal. Nothing on target.

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'We have to take ourselves by the nose and do it better next season, but it's annoying and painful to end the season like this.'

The City players acknowledged the sizeable contingent of visiting fans at Hillsborough – but Klose admitted their season finalé rather matched the rest of their campaign: chances created with an inability to take them.

'That's the picture of the season, this game,' he added. 'But I don't want to be angry with the guys up front because they work for us as well, and we have to do a job at the back. So it's about the team. It's about how we play together and stick together, and that was not the case here.

'The fans deserve that we go over there to apologise and clap that they did the trip here to support us, and we play rubbish like that.

'Of course we apologise. We're thankful they came, the last game with nothing to play for and especially on a Sunday, they still want to come here to support us – and we mess it up.'

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