‘I hate to say it…’ – under-pressure Norwich boss’ honest admission after five goals conceded in defeat to Portsmouth
Johannes Hoff Thorup criticised his Norwich players’ desire during their 5-3 defeat at the hands of Pompey on Good Friday.
The Canaries boss said the Blues clearly wanted the victory more than his troops – despite his side still having an outside chance of securing a play-off place.
The Dane, however, batted away suggestions that the home side produced an embarrassing performance against John Mousinho’s 18th-placed men.
Pompey ran out convincing winners thanks to a perfect hat-trick from Colby Bishop – one of which came from the penalty spot – and goals from Matt Ritchie and Regan Poole.
The win – just their third on the road this season – helped the Blues move six points clear of the relegation and take a huge step forward in their efforts to remain a Championship outfit.
Pompey’s hunger to succeed on the day and retain their second-tier status was clear to see, according to Hoff Thorup. He believes it was a characteristic that was devoid of his players, who can finish no higher than eighth now after a fifth loss in seven games.
The now under-pressure Norwich boss told pinkun.com after his side’s humbling by the Blues: ‘It’s just for us to find out who has the desire and who has the motivation to play the last three games.
‘What I have to do within the next couple of days is probably look more or less all the players in the eyes and say, “Okay, who’s really ready for the next three games here, who have some personal motivation to go out there and perform on the highest possible level?
‘We need more competitive spirit. We need more desire. And I hate to say it, but I think there was more desire in the Portsmouth side.
‘That was a big thing for us when watching the game out there. We were all over the place to be honest to begin with. And I think the simple things in the game we found hard to deal with, and then you end up in problems no matter how you play.’
Norwich weren’t ‘embarrassed’ by Pompey
The five efforts Pompey put past Canaries keeper George Long took their goals against total for the season to 63, with the ease in which teams have scored against Norwich considered their main downfall this term.
Meanwhile, the goals enjoyed by the 2,000-plus travelling members of the Fratton faithful in the away end at Carrow Road took their away goals tally for the campaign to 24 – with Friday’s efforts representing 20.8 per cent of their overall total on the road.
Despite the ease with which Pompey found the back of the net on Friday, Hoff Thorup denied his side’s display was embarrassing.
He added: ‘That was the second or third time I get the question about embarrassment, and that’s not really the case.
‘I’m more annoyed with the performance that we are so easy again to score against. The fifth goal comes from a deep free kick close to the halfway line. That is situations like that that we again find very, very difficult to deal with.
‘The penalty we have two or three situations just to get the ball out of the box and get the ball forward.
‘And again, we find ourselves in a situation where we stick out a leg in the penalty box and commit a penalty where it should never be the case, and it’s those moments in the game. I don’t think embarrassment is the right word. We are all of us sorry for the performance.
‘None of us hope for a performance like that and a result, especially like that. But I think it’s more the situations in the game that annoy me, because I have to find out, and we have to find out, why it is so difficult for us to deal with situations like that.’
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