Ian Russell, Capital Canaries If ever there was a weekend in the football calendar designed to sort the proverbial men from the boys, then surely this is it. The Easter programme has a habit of either making or breaking teams and, for Norwich City, this one is no exception.

Ian Russell, Capital Canaries

If ever there was a weekend in the football calendar designed to sort the proverbial men from the boys, then surely this is it. The Easter programme has a habit of either making or breaking teams and, for Norwich City, this one is no exception.

Following the disappointment of last week's home defeat at the hands of mid-table Sheffield Wednesday, City simply have to pick up points if they are to avoid the dreaded drop.

This is not the time for a bad run or hard luck stories. Winning games is the name of the game and points on the board is everything.

Southampton were blown away at Wolves in the first twenty minutes, but their run-in could be a lot worse and they would certainly not have given up hope of surviving just yet. Likewise Forest, who have been on a woeful run, will consider their last few games winnable and if nothing else we can be sure Billy Davies' team will be 'up for a dogfight' to the bitter end.

For me Barnsley are far from 'out of the woods' yet. Before today their run has been just three wins in 15 (not terribly dissimilar to our own) and, despite a game in hand, their last five games will not be easy.

No one will have experienced the pain and disappointment of last week more than Bryan Gunn. I sense that for the first time since he took over at the helm, Gunny really felt last week was about selection and tactical mistakes.

Fortunately, the 'gaffer' is an honest man and no pride will stand in the way of any mis-judgments. If Bryan Gunn is wrong then Bryan Gunn would be the first to admit it.

What I am certain of is that the 'BG School of Management' Learning Curve got a whole lot steeper last weekend.

We are nearing ever closer to knowing our fate; will we be travelling to QPR or Colchester next season?

The difference in win or bust is mammoth and, if (and let us hope - when) we do get over the line ahead of at least three others, it will feel as sweet as any promotion.

One thing we do have on our side of course is the immense yellow and green army. A subsidised trip allowed a good number of Capital Canaries to travel to South Wales today and the London exiles will be doing their bit to help for the final push. As always, our joint support may well be worth points for Gunny and the lads.

Happy Easter.