Three factors stand out from Norwich win over Coventry

Three factors stood out for me about the game. The first of these was just how important Kenny McLean is to David Wagner’s system, although ironically that was emphasised by how poor he was in the first half compared to the high performance levels that he has produced this season.

Bad decisions and some errant passing by the Scot meant that City’s early dominance dissipated and the visitors found themselves being gifted opportunities to punish their hosts, but fortunately they were also profligate in possession, and it almost became a competition to see which side could make the most unforced errors.

However, after being partly responsible for Coventry’s goal, McLean started to produce his trademark surges from deep positions to get City moving and found his passing range to become a major factor in the win.

Josh Sargent with Ashley Barnes after scoring City's opener against Coventry (Image: Daniel Hambury/Focus Images Ltd)

The second was the fact that Wagner’s substitutions, often less than effective this season, had a galvanising effect on a side that seemed to be running out of steam, none more so than Ashley Barnes, who played a key role in both goals, producing a great turn to free Gabriel Sara on the left before seeing Josh Sargent convert his blocked effort for the equaliser.

His critics might complain about his mobility, but his speed of thought is still as quick as ever as he showed when he found the space between two defenders to provide the perfect set-up for Borja Sainz’s winner.

The third factor is perhaps the most important; the fact that City with a fully-fit Josh Sargent leading the line are a much more effective team. Sargent was constantly on the shoulder of the last defender and his combination of pace and power never allowed Coventry’s centre backs to settle and completely removed the option of playing a high line from them.

The prospect of City being able to field a front line of Sargent, Sainz and Jonny Rowe for the run-in is a genuinely exciting prospect, with Sainz rapidly becoming a crowd favourite, raising the question of why it took so long for Wagner to play him.

Quite apart from his ability to score sensational goals his work rate and general enthusiasm lifts the crowd and was summed up by his fist pump after winning a throw-in in front of the South Stand.

However, all of that would be irrelevant without the work of Angus Gunn, who twice kept City in the game when they were 1-0 down, but credit also has to go to Coventry who eschewed any attempt to park the bus, even when they were reduced to 10 men.

City are still far from perfect defensively, as the ease with which Callum O’Hare outmanoeuvred Shane Duffy and Jack Stacey for Coventry’s goal demonstrated, but there is no doubt that they have tightened up in recent weeks, and that, and the fact that they are pretty much back to full strength, means that the next few weeks could be exciting.

My worry is that the lack of a genuine defensive midfielder may still prove costly, but the other side of that particular coin is that the absence of one means that Wagner is able to field another creative player in the middle of the pitch.

Ultimately, it’s a trade-off that may prove inspired or disastrous, but with the window now closed it’s one that we all have to live with, and only time will tell what the end result will be.

Whatever view people have of Wagner, and mine hasn’t altered, it’s now clear that nothing is going to change until the summer, so all we can do is get behind the players as the final third of the season unfolds.