Drury: We were all over the place

By CHRIS LAKEY

Adam Drury gave a stunningly honest assessment of Norwich City's current predicament following the south London mauling by Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Canaries defender said the mood in the team was so low it was hard to put it into words, and admitted the team and the manager deserved all the criticism the fans were throwing at their under-performing favourites.

Drury, a stalwart of Worthington's teams for five years, was part of a defence that leaked four goals against the rampant Eagles, but the left back said the accusatory finger should be pointed at the whole team for a performance that simply wasn't good enough.

“It was from start to finish wasn't it?” he said. “There was nothing in that that was good, we were all over the place.

“They carved through us and we just didn't look like a team.

“As a team we were so open, playing against a team like this who are obviously a good side - they tore into us and we never came back.”

A late own goal by Darren Ward at least meant City didn't equal their worst result of the season, a 4-0 drubbing at runaway leaders Reading, but the Selhurst Park experience was just about as bad as it has been this season.

“I'd say it ranks up there,” admitted Drury. “There have been a few games, but it's not games where we have played badly and lost 1-0, it's the fact that when we lose we lose by four goals.

“As a defender it's very hard to take and with Greeny in goal it must have been destroying for him. It just so low at the minute it's indescribable.”

The Canaries were clearly ruffled by the Palace defeat, but the big question for the long-suffering fans is exactly where does the club go from here.

“That's a difficult question and that is what we have been sat in there discussing,” said Drury. “Where do you go from here? Because you can't keep having games like that. If we are going to lose we have to shut up shop and lose 1-0 and try and fight and grind and get something out of it. But to go out there and end up losing four again, it hurts and it hurts a lot.”

The result was manna from heaven for the Worthy Out brigade, but Drury says the criticism should be aimed not just at one person.

“It's the same for the players,” he said. “We are the ones that go out there and obviously the manager is going to get it and so will we - and rightly so after that.”

What the result did do was to again bring into perspective just what City's role in the Championship has boiled down to this season as they once again found themselves rolled over by one of the top 10 teams in the division. Reading, Watford, Leeds, Preston, Wolves and now Palace have all shown scant regard for the Canaries recent fleeting foray in the Premiership. And City's favourites opponents are clearly those of a lesser pedigree, as the two home wins over Brighton and then derby which preceded their trip to London proved.

So perhaps talk of the play-offs shouldn't be limited to the mathematics - it's the class difference. Palace have it, City don't.

“No disrespect to Derby, but you're playing a team in play-off positions,” said Drury. “That's where we want to be, but today we weren't good enough, simple as that.

“The play-offs? Playing like that we will get nowhere near it. At the moment we have to worry about playing week to week and getting each game's results as they come. We keep looking ahead but, well it's hard to describe at the minute how it feels like after being in a game like that.