With two losses and three draws in their last five games in the Championship, Norwich City have done substantial damage to their pursuit of getting a ticket for the playoffs. Alex Neil’s troops are now 9 points adrift of the sixth-placed outfit- Sheffield Wednesday and chances of promotion looks bleak for them at the moment.
However, Neil can make a turnaround or at least end the season on a high by working on the productivity of his men with his excellent man-management skills and here are three players he could hand a few more opportunities to clinch some favourable results in the business end of the season.
Alex Pritchard
During his tenure at White Hart Lane, Alex Pritchard was sent to as many as four different clubs, namely, Peterborough United, Swindon Town, Brentford and West Bromwich Albion, and he showed that he can be a handy commodity for any outfit. The former Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder moved to the Carrow Road in the summer of 2016 but has been in and out of the side despite banging 3 goals, registering 3 assists and creating 21 chances in 19 appearances he has been handed so far by Neil.
To beef up the attacking tooth of Norwich City, the 23-year-old Englishman must be given a vote of confidence by the gaffer, for he is indeed a goal scoring threat from the wide areas, has a technical know-how of passing the ball meticulously inside the box and is also a threat from set-pieces.
Steven Whittaker
Veteran defender Steven Whittaker is another fringe player whom Neil should be involving more often in his tactical setups. The right-back, who has been handed merely 7 appearances so far this season, has won 2 tackles and made 8 interceptions, 3 blocks and 20 clearances but then, he is capable of contributing much more.
Norwich City might have a thin squad with a shoestring budget but they do have the quality at their disposal and proper use of this 32-year-old can certainly work wonders for them.
Kyle Lafferty
Of course, Cameron Jerome has been leading the attacking frontier of the Canaries but in the process, Kyle Lafferty’s flamboyance and clinical finishing abilities have been perennially overlooked. The 29-year-old striker would be an ideal man up front and should be tried by the 35-year-old manager.
Lafferty is one of the household names in Northern Ireland and had an excellent track record in the Euro 2016. Tall, sharp and physically imposing, a rise in the number of chances afforded to him holds paramount importance at the moment for a commendable finish to the season for Norwich City.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
