Duffy: There is no quick fix

Jim Duffy admitted to feeling “flat” after his exit from Carrow Road - but urged City fans to give new manager Glenn Roeder time to turn round the club's fortunes.

The 48-year-old Scot, caretaker boss for three matches after Peter Grant's departure, all defeats, bade a swift farewell of his own yesterday after his hopes of taking the job were dashed and it was made clear Roeder wanted to recruit his own backroom team.

Duffy, who arrived in February as Grant's assistant manager, said he was “frustrated” things had not worked out better, but accepted the decision with good grace and wished the Canaries well.

He said: “If you lose your job it is going to be hurting and that's how it should be. I loved the job, loved working there. I wasn't volunteering to leave, that's for sure. I feel flat. I am normally quite upbeat but I'm deflated.

“Now I have to wait and see what happens and whether I am directly involved in football again. It is always up to somebody else. In this line of work, you are always in the hands of others - those who give you the job in the first place and then to do the job, the players. That's football and you have to accept that.

“I have no immediate plans as I was waiting to see what the Norwich situation would be. I found out on Monday night that an appointment was going to be made and it wasn't going to be me.

“I totally respect the decision by the directors and I have nothing but good things to say about the club.

“It was great to work there and I enjoyed just about every minute - not necessarily every 90 minutes because you don't enjoy matches if you're not winning - but the normal part of the coaching job. The supporters, the staff and the players have all been great and it's a fantastic club.

“I was told Glenn would come in and bring his own people in and it's quite right for him to do so. The best thing for me to do was clear the decks as quickly as possible.”

He said he hoped fans would back Roeder and give him time.

He said: “The club has fantastic support and a great atmosphere at games. I hope the supporters will be a little bit patient. I know they have probably been told to be patient for the last three years but there is no quick fix. A lot of supporters I have spoken to say it has been slowly seeping away over the last three years. It will take time to turn things round.”

As to his unsuccessful job application, he said: “I don't know if better results would have helped my chances. Over the past three weeks, I think the injuries to Dion Dublin, Adam Drury and Gary Doherty didn't help, to lose those type of characters.

“I felt the performances were OK, not brilliant but OK. I thought the first half performance against Bristol City was excellent. And West Brom are a good side - even going there with a full-strength side would have been difficult.”

City chairman Roger Munby thanked Duffy for his efforts.

He said: “It's appropriate to pay tribute to the work that Jim's done in the last three weeks. It really has been industrious but also done with great dignity because, as we all know, Jim made a stoical appearance and answered a lot of questions, both at the annual general meeting and at a fans' forum last week and that, in a sense, for a caretaker manager, was above and beyond the call of duty. I take my hat off to him. He's helped us through but he is no longer at the football club.”