Alex Neil’s comments on Norwich City post-match on Saturday were a cheap shot and in poor taste, but it might prove to be a valuable point for David Wagner’s side come May.

The Scot’s outburst on Norwich did come as a surprise, especially the indirect criticism of Wagner and his players by saying that he was perplexed about their set-up and approach to Saturday’s game before asking a wider question about their DNA.

This is a guy who left Sunderland under a bit of a cloud to replace Michael O’Neill and it felt in pretty poor taste for another manager to criticise a peer for the way they had set up their team. It felt unnecessary.

Maybe it was frustration after 90 minutes where his side failed to find a breakthrough or because it didn’t allow them to press Norwich in the way he was hoping pre-match – but there was no need to be critical of the approach they took.

Neil should focus on Stoke. He has a massive job on his hands to revive their fortunes, and his side are nine points behind Norwich in the table – his focus should be on the work he has to do with his own club to get them in a position to challenge for the top six next season.

Stoke have lost more than they have won since he’s taken over and he’s had longer at the helm there than Wagner has overseen at Norwich.

It’s not unusual for a manager to talk about other teams, but it was uncalled for whether it was an honestly held opinion or not and whether he was directly asked about Norwich’s set-up or not.  My question would be around motive – what is he trying to achieve through his comments?

Everyone knows his connection with Norwich – he did a marvellous job in getting that group of players to the Premier League against the odds in 2014/15 and is still held in high esteem for his body of work during his spell at Carrow Road.

The club also gave him his big break in English football. I’m not sure any other side would have been willing to hand him the managerial reigns directly from Hamilton.

The Championship is a relentless league and Neil will know better than anybody how tough a division it can be to get results. He endured a similar situation at Norwich back in the 2016/17 season prior to his dismissal.

Norwich set up the team a little bit differently due to injuries to key attacking players and due to this being their third game in six days – that was crucial context that Neil sought to ignore.

What about if Wagner had decided to go down the route of discussing the Stoke DNA? That would consist of a very different style of football that provokes a different set of emotions and thoughts.

Coming away from Staffordshire with a point isn’t a disaster, especially when you’re not at your best and struggling for creativity. It wasn’t this draw where there should be frustration but the one against Huddersfield last midweek. That was the real opportunity squandered.

But, without contradicting myself, this is a team that should be showing more and performing better irrespective. That has been the bottom line all season.

They are a team that could and should be performing better than they did – but the team had issues when Wagner took over and trying to instil a doggedness into their make-up isn’t necessarily the worst idea, especially given the fixtures on the horizon.

Sheffield United are next, then Blackburn before Rotherham and Middlesbrough. Norwich have it all to do if they are to get themselves into the play-offs. Come the end of the season; it may prove itself to be a valuable point. It might be the one that gets them into the top six.

The league is so congested and so tight. When Norwich come back, they’ve got to win over half of their games to finish inside the play-off places. That will be a tall order but everyone knew this was going to be the case when Wagner took over from Dean Smith.

When I’ve taken stock of the mood among the fanbase, either through social media or when Norwich fans have rung into my BBC Five Live show, they have either been too high or too low all season.

Wagner has either cracked it, or he hasn’t a hope of finding a formula. There is no middle ground, and that hasn’t been present all season.

Wagner requires time and space to implement his methods. He has a clear way of playing, and that wasn’t using the template deployed on Saturday. It can be argued if it was the right or wrong approach – but it’s understandable in the context of injuries.

City’s boss knows there is plenty to do and he does speak rationally about the situation and the challenges he is facing to get this side into the top six.

The next two weeks will be valuable for resetting the squad ahead of one last push to the line. They need a charge – psychologically, that is why Saturday’s point might prove extremely useful.

With eight matches left, everybody needs to pull together regardless of what has happened this season.

Let’s not worry about the summer or why the underperformance has happened – just for eight matches, the sole focus needs to be on supporting the team and developing a unity that can drive the team into the top six.

That doesn’t mean being accepting of how this season has panned out or where Norwich find themselves currently – but store those searching questions for the end of the season. The inquest can begin thereafter.

The Pink Un: Angus Gunn is fighting it out to be Scotland's number one. Angus Gunn is fighting it out to be Scotland's number one. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

SUTTON EXTRA

I’m delighted that Angus Gunn has switched his allegiance from England to Scotland and it is the perfect time in his career to make that change.

I played with his dad, Bryan, at Norwich City. Beyond being a really proud Scotsman, he was a real one-club man plus a fantastic goalkeeper who put his heart and soul into every one of his 478 appearances in yellow and green.

He has a fantastic, respectful and supportive family behind him who will help him along the way – at least he has a proper Scottish name.

They will be incredibly proud when he steps out for Scotland at Hampden for the first time.

Angus has made the right choice and Steve Clarke has made a smart move to bring him into the fold – he has the ability to nail down the number one shirt for the long-term, even with fierce competition from Zander Clark and Liam Kelly.

I hope he goes up and does really well – there is a real opportunity for him to solidate his place and secure international football for a large portion of his career. At 27, the time for him to commit to Scotland was now, especially given his form at Carrow Road.

He may well get a bit of stick for a tweet that he liked about Scotland’s exit from the Euros – which was factually correct – but he’s a talented keeper and it only required one listen to Clarke’s words at his press conference to realise how pleased he is that Gunn has made the switch.

It’s been a fascinating battle with Tim Krul throughout the last 12 months, but most would confidently say that he has won that duel.

His heroics at Stoke were another example of his improvement, there is little debate now about who is currently number one for David Wagner. When the time comes, I’m sure he will be under real consideration for the Player of the Season award.

There won’t be a Scotsman with a bigger smile on his face when Angus does make his Scotland debut than Bryan. Everyone associated with Norwich will be wishing him well over the international break.