Thorup on Jurasek, Sargent and Sainz spearhead
Johannes Hoff Thorup is not writing off Norwich City’s Championship play-off ambitions despite showcasing a new-look attacking spearhead in the 1-1 draw at Hull City.
Big money January signing Matej Jurasek made his entire debut in a forward three that included the league’s leading scorer, Borja Sainz, and Josh Sargent, who bagged his fifth in five outings.
Sargent’s thunderous header cancelled out Matt Crooks’ opener but a week that saw the Canaries gain two points from nine has seen Thorup’s team drop down to 12th and four points outside the top six.
The Dane feels Norwich now have the added firepower to finish the season on a high note.
“Probably some will think, ‘Why is he sitting here when they haven’t won for three in a row, and how can he be pleased about the situation?’ But I am, because the league is so tight, and we don’t pay too much attention to the table,” said Thorup.
“It’s just about us and our own performances.
“And I can see in those boys that there’s so much good stuff going on, and when we get the time to build on the way that we want to play, when we can bring a little bit more consistency.
I know that’s probably been the key word for us this season – but when we can build that into the team with playing with the same players, having the same line-up for a couple of games in a row, I expect even more good stuff will happen, because I can see it.”
Sargent reinforced his place as one of the greatest number nines in the league again on Humberside.
“When you have a player like him you are always in the game,” remarked Thorup.
“We just know the we need to bring more situations into the box because we need to be able to create those moments in a better way compared to the previous two games for us.
“Then you can imagine he’s first on a couple of those instances.
It’s a terrific goal, and I think it’s a great start to the second half.
That start also provided us the lift and the energy to keep on going.”
Czechia international Jurasek showed signs of his menace in the last third.
“It’s not easy for him to step in, and we have to keep on remembering that he’s completely new to the league and still a young player,” said Thorup.
“I think Matej showed in a couple of situations that he can dribble and he can pass, and we just need to set him up in situations where he can have shots on goal, because that left foot is really a dangerous one.
But I’m thrilled with it, because that’s a solid start.”
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