Johannes Hoff Thorup says there is a place at Norwich City for his experienced centre-backs despite the criticism they've faced this season.
Battle-hardened duo Shane Duffy and Grant Hanley were under fire after defensive mistakes in the Canaries’ opening two games of the season, many supporters calling for their exits as they grapple with Thorup’s adapted style of play.
Duffy was included in the starting line-up for the Canaries' last two Championship games, however, and has impressed alongside Callum Doyle at the heart of the backline.
Thorup says both the Irishman and club captain Hanley offer valuable characteristics to City’s rebuild, and has assured those fans he has his reasons for keeping them in first-team contention.
“With all due respect, because it is difficult to see from the outside, sometimes you also need to take into consideration as a coach what the players give on a daily basis,” he said.
“Here we talk about two experienced players who give it all to the environment, they give a lot to the young players. They have the energy to go and support them.
“Grant did it against Blackburn even though he was not playing. He had the energy to go and support some of the younger guys who were about to play the game and so on.
“That’s so important for us. It’s so important when you change the direction of strategy and style of play a little bit that you have these experienced guys who can be on the pitch or at least close to the pitch supporting. That’s of course also something we need in games.”
Calls for academy products Brad Hills and Jaden Warner to start at centre-back have been consistent, while new signings Doyle and Jose Cordoba have also made an impression.
Thorup believes that competition can only be a good thing for Norwich, even if he would like to find a settled pair before long.
“For the moment we have decided that there’s competition for the centre-back position,” continued the City head coach. “We have four or five players available for these positions.
“What we aim to do going forward is to find two players who play the most games for us, but of course there needs to be competition in every position.”
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