David Hannant: How wrong I was about Brandon Williams?

However, the theme of this column today will be just this - a humbling admission that I was absolutely, unequivocally, 100pc wrong.

Earlier in this season, I had some fairly choice words about Brandon Williams. When the Manchester United loanee first came into the fold, I can't say I was impressed.

It may well be that my natural aversion to Manchester United and all those associated with them that I had blinkers on a little bit, but I really struggled to see what he brought that Dimi Giannoulis didn't.

Maybe my United bias made me hone in too much on tiny errors and be overly critical, but for whatever reason, my initial gut feeling was that the Red Devil loanee was here to serve himself and have a consequence-free season knowing he'd be back at Old Trafford in no time.

I wrote a subsequent column a few months ago that entertained the idea that I was wrong and that I was starting to see more from him and fellow loanee Billy Gilmour.

Now though, I am officially nailing my flag to the mast and saying those hardest three words for somebody tasked with spouting opinions - I was wrong. I am officially a Brandon Williams convert.

Brandon Williams heads clear during the game against Crystal Palace at Carrow Road (Image: ©Focus Images Limited www.focus-images.co.uk +44 7813 022858)

The combative full-back was named player of the month in January for his efforts and he was well worthy of winning that accolade, despite some strong competition from the likes of Milot Rashica.

It may well be that Dean Smith has found a way to stoke the fires under Williams's belly and if so, credit to him, but these past few months I feel like I've been watching a totally different player.

When in the past I had questioned quite how dedicated to the Norwich City cause he might be, now I have no doubts whatsoever that he has been truly sucked into the Norfolk family.

He still makes marauding runs forward and on occasion he may lose the ball. But while in the early stages of the season I can recall seeing him lose the ball then saunter back, he now looks a man possessed if it happens.

Only Grant Hanley has won more interceptions than Williams and he has shown growing willingness to put his body on the line for his team-mates.

A telling moment for me was his assist for Adam Idah in the win against Everton, which already seems a lifetime ago.

Once the Irishman tucked away his inch-perfect through-ball, Williams showed such passion that you'd have been forgiven for thinking it was actually a last-minute winner in a cup final. That is the kind of passion I want to see from every player.

Clearly enthusiastically celebrating a goal isn't what makes a player, but it is a sure fire way of showing how much you care - and I can see he cares.

I now feel a little foolish for ever questioning how interested he is in playing for Norwich City. I now have no doubts whatsoever.

Whether there genuinely was a time when he wasn't overly enthused to be wearing yellow or whether he was simply taking time to settle in, only he can tell you, but what is plain to see now is the fact he is all in.

Such has my mind been changed about the 21-year-old, I now consider him to be one of the leading contenders for the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy.

If his form carries on until the season is out, he will no doubt be one of the names being bandied about for the player of the season award.

The test for him now will be making sure he keeps it up - not that I have any reason to doubt whether he will.

There was a point in the season where I genuinely wouldn't have batted an eyelid if Stuart Webber opted to hit return to sender in January.

Now I am finding myself attached to him like he was one of our own and desperately hoping something could be done to turn his loan move into a permanent one. How things can change.

He is also a fine example of how we as football fans should perhaps not be overly hasty to make our judgments on players - like I did so wrongly with Williams.

He arrived with a strong reputation and dozens of first team games at Old Trafford, which made it slightly harder to have patience with him - but it really shouldn't have done.

Now he is looking like a true, dyed-in-the-wool yellow, long may it continue.

If City are to complete the great escape and avoid yet another relegation, his fighting spirit and tenacity is exactly the kind of thing we need.

Here's hoping he continues to flourish.

Soft under-belly

The last two home fixtures have felt almost identical in how they played out - although obviously with far superior opposition the second time around.

Each time City have shown real promise in the first half and even against Manchester City we were unlucky not to go in level.

But equally, the second halves of each game have been real backs-to-the-wall affairs where we haven't particularly brought a great deal to the party.

It is a real worry for me, as clearly strong second-half performances are pivotal for games - unless you're already out of sight by the time the half-time whistle blows (and how often does that happen for us?).

My hope is that these two games were slight anomalies where the opposition has stepped things up, rather than City running out of steam after putting too much into the first half.

If, however, they find a way of matching the intensity of first-half performances after the breaks, our hopes of staying up are alive and well.

The Normann effect

I've no problem with the way Matthias Normann has been eased back into the picture after his injury setbacks.

There is no mistaking that the Norwegian is an absolutely key cog in the Norwich City machine and until his injury was quite clearly our best player.

As soon as he became available, many were understandably clamouring for him to be thrown straight into the fold - but personally, I'm prepared to be patient.

If easing him back into the set-up rather than rushing him straight in means that we reap the benefits of him for longer, then it's absolutely the right way to go.

The last thing we would want is for him to come straight back into the starting XI before he is physically ready and do more damage.

However, as soon as he is ready to figure from the start, he needs to be in there and will feel like a new signing, again.