The bank holiday weekend games produced a sharp contrast between the progress that Norwich City have made since Christmas and just how much more is required if they are to become a Premier League team again.

Against Plymouth, City were aggressive, inventive but still vulnerable to the sucker punch, which came with Morgan Whittaker’s precise header after Josh Sargent had gone to ground looking for a cheap free-kick that didn’t come to allow the breakaway and Jacob Sorensen had completely lost his man.

Before Christmas they would probably have gone on to lose the game from there because, despite dominating play, they couldn’t find a finish before half-time and looked completely out of sorts in the second half before finding two set-piece goals to grab the points.

It wasn’t pretty, and it was hardly comprehensive against a struggling side, but at this stage of the season it’s the points that matter, not how they’re gained.

It also meant that City fans headed to the King Power Stadium on Monday in a positive mood, particularly after Leicester’s latest slip-up at Bristol City.

The game couldn’t have gone much better for the first 20 minutes. City started positively, winning most second balls before taking the lead, while the home crowd, given that their team had won just one of their previous six league games, were growing increasingly restless.

Thereafter it was downhill all the way as David Wagner’s innate conservatism once again kicked in and City, rather than go for the jugular, sat deeper and deeper and allowed Leicester to exploit their narrow defensive set-up to the full.

City simply don’t possess the defensive quality to absorb constant pressure from the better sides, yet for almost 70 minutes that’s what they tried to do at Leicester, with both home centre-backs spending more time in the Canaries half than their own, such was the lack of counter-attacking threat.

Enzo Maresca had clearly done his homework and noted that both City full-backs are considerably more confident going forward than having to defend. Consequently, Leicester’s two quick wingers hugged the touchlines and with Jack Stacey and Sam McCallum 20 yards infield as a barrage of crossfield passes rained over them, they were able to run into lots of space before encountering a challenge.

The danger that that tactic caused was clear to the home fans, who roared approval every time the ball went wide but generated no reaction from the City dugout to counter it.

City’s total lack of ambition both infuriated the travelling fans and, more importantly, visibly boosted the confidence of the home side, as the visitors' attempts to play out from the back became increasingly ponderous and lacking in assurance.

There was a horrible sense of déjà vu as the reluctance to throw caution to the wind in search of an equaliser was reminiscent of the Boxing Day game at The Hawthorns, where City appeared happy to go down 2-1 rather than risk a heavier defeat in order to try to grab a point.

Leicester are a good side at this level, but they looked very disjointed early on and produced relatively little end product from their overall dominance, yet the passiveness shown by City made what should have been an awkward game easy for them.

With today’s game in mind, it’s hard not to draw parallels between City’s meek submission and the never-say-die approach that is consistently demonstrated by Ipswich Town and has resulted in so many late winners or equalisers for them.

Hard as it is to admit, under a young and adventurous manager unencumbered by the baggage of past failures, Ipswich have become the sort of vibrant outfit that City were under both Paul Lambert and Daniel Farke.

I just hope and pray that Wagner channels the spirit of those two this afternoon, instead of that of Chris Hughton.