The R-word will be on Norwich City’s lips following such a tough Carrow Road introduction to the Daniel Farke era: reaction.
The Canaries were swatted away with relative ease by Sunderland’s direct style on Sunday – but fortunately the EFL Championship is good at offering swift chances for redemption.
And while the words ‘patience’ and ‘work in progress’ are symptomatic of where City find themselves after so many changes during the summer, on-loan midfielder Harrison Reed still expects Norwich to deliver something far better when Queens Park Rangers visit Carrow Road on Wednesday night.
“For sure, the fans deserve a reaction after a 3-1 loss – we need to get our first three points at home, definitely,” said Reed.
“Wednesday is crucial now. Obviously we want to win every game, especially here at Carrow Road. We’ll go back to training, have a new game plan I’m sure for Wednesday and hopefully we will put everything that we did wrong here, right.”
The statistical positives were also their issues. From having so much of the ball City couldn’t conjure a lead, while their passing accuracy didn’t actually translate into the clinical potency Sunderland exhibited.
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“I’ve been on the wrong side of things a bit like that before,” said Reed. “But I can’t remember them cutting us open, playing great football in between the lines and things like that.
“Obviously they were more effective, took their chances, scored three goals. I feel like we’re playing nice football – but we need to be more aggressive and need to score more goals.
“It’s one thing we’ve said to each other – we need to move the ball quicker, more forward passes in between the lines and then play our possession football in there.”
But there was a significant positive for City’s 22-year-old on-loan Southampton midfielder – his first taste of Carrow Road in top gear.
“It was a really special moment – I got a few goosebumps to start with when the crowd were roaring just before kick off, and then in the huddle there was some great words from Russell Martin, who’s obviously been here a long time.
“I want to feel the special days that they have had here over the last few years, and I want to get them back.”
• For the latest Norwich City news and opinion follow Michael Bailey on Twitter @michaeljbailey, Facebook @mbjourno and Instagram @mrmichaeljbailey
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