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Norwich City column: David Wagner’s squad size could hinder Sky Bet Championship play-off push




Despite surrendering a two-goal lead at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night, it remains advantage Norwich City in the race for the Championship play-offs.

With four matches remaining, the Canaries hold the highly-coveted sixth position, five points clear of our nearest rivals in Coventry – although it is worth noting the Sky Blues and several others in the chasing pack have a game in hand.

In no small part, we find ourselves in such a strong position thanks to last Saturday's magnificent victory in the East Anglian derby.

Norwich City columnist Edward Seaman fears David Wagner’s squad size could be a problem for the Canaries in the run in.
Norwich City columnist Edward Seaman fears David Wagner’s squad size could be a problem for the Canaries in the run in.

I don’t think much needs to be said other than, on the day, we were better than our Suffolk counterparts in all departments – both on the pitch and in the stands.

But such is the intense nature of this league that we can’t dwell too much on the past.

Tomorrow we visit Preston North End, one of the three teams – alongside Coventry and Hull – who have a realistic chance of snatching the final play-off spot from our grasp.

While we have every reason to feel confident, my one nagging concern as we head into the business end of the campaign is the slender size of our squad.

We are asking the likes of Josh Sargent, Gabriel Sara and Kenny McLean to do so much at present.

Sara has played every minute of the last 19 Championship matches, an extraordinary effort from the midfielder – while Sargent’s injury situation has been well documented.

I know David Wagner has received plenty of criticism for his substitutions, but the truth is that he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. When we take key players off, such as Sargent on Tuesday night, the drop off in performance is massive; but equally he has to try and manage their fitness with fatigue levels building game-on-game.

That’s why the impending return of Jonathan Rowe will provide a monumental boost as we head into – as the old cliché goes – four cup finals.