Throughout not only Norwich City's dismal relegation but also their inconsistent 2022-23 campaign, the prescription for improvement has been the same: a true defensive midfielder.

Luckily enough for the Canaries, the answer to those pleas appears to have arrived on Sunday, in the form of a 27-year-old Newcastle United loanee dressed in maroon.

After numerous setbacks and a frustrating waiting game, Isaac Hayden made exactly the impact many were hoping for when appearing as a half-time substitute.

The game state unfortunately dictated that a holding midfielder was unlikely to haul the Canaries back into the game, but the former Arsenal man's job was done impeccably.

In just a half of football he registered four interceptions, seven recoveries, a long pass, a sliding tackle, 46 successful actions of 58 completed, 36 accurate passes (92pc successful) and nine of 15 duels won.

That's testament to the all-action performance of a man even Dean Smith admitted looked exhausted 30 minutes into his return - and no wonder after 10 months without playing.

"I thought we were losing the physical battle in midfield and he was needed," the former Aston Villa boss said of Hayden. "He's a proper man. He's physical, he can win tackles, win headers. He knows how to use the ball and where to be on the pitch.

"He's a good player and that's why we signed him, so it's frustrating for all parties that that's the first minutes he's got in a Norwich shirt."

Even with such an impressive performance, the difference between Hayden and young Liam Gibbs was surprising, after the ex-Ipswich Town midfielder had largely impressed in his early City outings. So what did the 19-year-old lack that Hayden provided?

A key factor was that positional knack Smith referenced, with Gibbs similarly successful to his team-mate when present but involved much less often.

This was clear in Gibbs' total actions statistic. Although he was successful in a much higher percentage than the number eight (92.86pc v 79pc), that only added up to 13 helpful actions, while Hayden posted an impressive 46 despite featuring when Watford were attacking less.

This points to the fact that Gibbs must improve his ability to read the play and more regularly occupy positions where he can make the physical challenges City were lacking in their miserable first half performance.

His quality isn't in doubt, but these are the abilities that often improve with experience. In that sense the difference between Hayden's 198 career appearances and Gibbs' 15 was clear.

Another half-time change Smith made to improve his side's performance was switching his full-backs. While Max Aarons had started in his familiar right-back position and Sam Byram was on the left, the second half saw the opposite become true.

Smith explained that change post-match, saying: "(Ismaila) Sarr was causing Max problems and Max was on a caution, so I didn't want Max to get involved in any other collisions with him. They seemed to target that area as well, so I just felt it was the time to switch them."

That admittance of the 22-year-old's defensive frailty will be worrying for Canaries fans, but the numbers certainly support that assertion. Aarons was successful in only two of his eight defensive duels at Vicarage Road, losing two thirds of his duels generally.

The struggles of one of the club's most talented players will certainly worry supporters, even in a sea of under performing players.

There are several issues for Smith's side to work on as they look to recover from consecutive defeats for the first time this season. Chief among them will be recovering Aarons' form, but the positive of Hayden's impactful introduction provides some hope.