'I would have done some things differently'
Former Norwich City boss Johannes Hoff Thorup says he would have done things differently had he known the target was to finish in the Championship play-off places.The Dane was relieved of his duties by the Canaries last week following a run of six defeats from eight Championship games and only one win.He was appointed in May 2024 and as recently as February, with the team 10th and four points outside the top six, sporting director Ben Knapper admitted the Canaries were where he expected them to be.Having signed a number of young players with the aim of developing them, Thorup said that influenced the way he managed the team."Had the communication from the start been that we should reach the top six and be one of the play-off clubs, then we would probably have made some other decisions along the way," Thorup told Danish sports magazine Tipsbladet., external"I will always say we didn't get enough time. We have obviously worked with a long-term perspective, and we also knew that the first season would be with bumps in the road. Therefore, we also made some decisions based on the fact that it was with a more long-term view in mind."The ex-FC Nordsjaelland coach admits had he thought results were the overriding priority he would have made different decisions."We wouldn't necessarily have played with the youngest team in Norwich for generations, as we did in one of the games (against Oxford), where we had an average age of around 23-and-a-half years," he added."We would probably have prioritised what we knew would give us some performances here and now instead of giving some of the young players the chance. There have been some things along the way that we would have done differently if it had only been about the performances."Norwich will have Jack Wilshere in interim charge again for their final game of the season at home to relegated Cardiff on Saturday (12:30 BST).Thorup said he would not be surprised to see the ex-Arsenal midfielder handed the role on a permanent basis."I knew Jack's terms of employment, so I knew that at some point he would step up as head coach, and we had also made a good plan with him," he said."The premise for bringing him in was his next step in his career, where he had to move on from Norwich or Glen (Riddersholm - assistant) and I had to move on from Norwich so that he could become head coach."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
30 minutes ago
- Wales Online
BBC Sport presenter bravely opens up on miscarriage heartbreak
BBC Sport presenter bravely opens up on miscarriage heartbreak The GAA Social Podcast with Oisin McConville and Thomas Niblock spoke to former Galway All-Ireland-winning hurler Johnny Glynn about his and his wife Serena's fertility issues Thomas Niblock opened up about the miscarriages his wife Kirstie has had to go through (Image: thomasniblock/Twitter ) BBC Sport presenter Thomas Niblock has opened up about the personal anguish of miscarriage and fertility complications following his revelation that his wife Kirstie tragically lost three pregnancies. In an emotive segment on the GAA Social Podcast, Niblock and fellow host Oisin McConville invited ex-Galway hurling champion Johnny Glynn to share his harrowing experiences. Living in New York with his wife Serena, Glynn faced similar sorrows in his journey to parenthood. Only recently, after steering New York to victory in the Lory Meagher Cup at Croke Park, Glynn learnt that their latest IVF attempt had failed. During the podcast, McConville described it as a "privilege" to hear such candid and heartfelt discussions about the struggles of fertility, pregnancy loss, and ectopic ruptures, reports Belfast Live. Niblock laid bare the trials he and his wife Kirstie have endured. "It is not an exaggeration in any way - my family and friends would know this - we were very close to losing Kirstie," he disclosed. "So that shapes you. You go from your fertility after that and I am thinking, it would be amazing and I'd love to have kids, like most people would. "Not all - but certainly most. But at the same time when you nearly lose your wife that's the game changer for me and that's the priority. That shapes you as well. Article continues below Johnny Glynn joined Oisin McConville and Thomas Niblock on the BBC's GAA Social podcast "Then time passes by and you definitely do want kids. So that's where we're at, at the minute. We haven't tried IVF. That may be coming down the pathway. My wife is very lucky. She has a great set of friends - been really supportive towards her. She's a very strong person. "She doesn't take things too seriously whereas everybody I would find would be quite different in this scenario. She has a good head on her shoulders. But it still is heavy stuff. I just feel it would be hypocritical if I didn't put myself out there, even though it's a bit weird to be talking about it." Glynn's experience echoed similar sentiments, as he disclosed: "Unfortunately we've had a few miscarriages. We've had an ectopic pregnancy. We've done a few rounds of IVF. "We are after finishing our fifth round of IVF transfers and they've all been unsuccessful so far. To be honest with you, where we are at I don't know exactly. I don't know how we are going to get there yet but we are going to get there. Thomas Niblock opened up about the fertility issues he and his wife Kirstie have endured (Image: thomasniblock/Twitter ) "When we do have kids and if they grow up to be healthy and fine, do you know what I'll take these two years. I'll take this tough time because it's only going to be for a little bit of time. We are going to get over it. We are going to be fine. "Not to sound soft or anything, but as long as myself and Serena have each other, we'll be okay. What upsets me is seeing her so upset. I firmly believe, I will be ok, if she is ok. It's not being able to fix this for her, it's the one thing that is out of my control, that I can't do for my wife. It's a f*****g killer." The pair opened up about their fertility journey, including sperm testing and confronting the discomfort caused by questions about starting a family. Niblock shared an anecdote of common enquiries he faces: 'No kids yet Tommy?' before adding: "I would have known, even not going through our experience, if someone is married a year or two and they are in their 30s and there's no kids, there might be a wee issue there. Don't maybe say something to them. "So I push back and say: 'To be honest, we've had three miscarriages' and the face just drops. But I feel that's important to say that. It's not me being guarded. It's just maybe more: 'you should have a wee think about that.' I am grand with it and it doesn't bother me, but I definitely know of other people it does. The BBC presenter revealed his wife had gone through three miscarriages (Image: thomasniblock/Twitter ) "I am always amazed by the response of so many people. Once you tell people you've had a miscarriage, they'll say: 'Tommy, know all about it, one or two myself.' "Now their stage is different. This is what I think, my whole thing is if you have two or three kids and you have two or three miscarriages before, I'd be 100 percent with that. "It's not mitigation against what happened in the past but your journey is a past tense one. But I think if you are in the midst of it and you don't have any kids and your story to tell is - in my case three miscarriages - you are in a very different place. Article continues below "Not in a mean way but because so many people have no history of talking about it. It is bit weird for me even talking about this. In my life I'd say this is the most I've ever put myself out there so I am at fault as much as anybody else, because it's not talked about. It's not normalised and people don't really know what way to deal about it. "We're still clinging on to hope and hope is a very powerful thing. If hope was gone, then you're realigning yourself - adoptions, fostering, no kids whatsoever. Me and Kirstie will have a brilliant life, no matter what way that goes, as long as she's there." The full podcast is available on BBC Sounds here.
Daily Record
43 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Deluded Rangers fans are stuck in the past and here's why I'm staggered by their reaction to Russell Martin
Russell Martin has barely got his feet under the desk at Ibrox – yet even his choice of FOOTWEAR has copped flak from some Rangers fans. It shows you what he's up against. Martin committed the cardinal sin of not slipping on a pair of brogues for his unveiling the other day and it was just another thing to throw at the incoming head coach. The response from some to his appointment has been staggering. It reeks to me of entitlement – and misguided entitlement in that. It seems to me there's a large element who didn't want Martin to get the gig and it's going to take a huge effort to win them over. But I'd like to know, who did they expect to get the job? In fact, we know the answer. I suspect some of them actually thought there was a chance Jose Mourinho was going to walk up the marble staircase this summer. If not Jose, then Steven Gerrard. Or Davide Ancelotti – who obviously played Rangers like a piccolo. Either way, Rangers felt it was going to be some other big name, top level European coach in the hot seat. And now noses are out of joint that it's the guy who got sacked by Southampton months ago after a wretched time in the Premier League. They are coming at it the wrong way – and they are clearly stuck in the past. This isn't the Rangers team of the nineties. They are not going to get an elite European boss like Dick Advocaat strolling in. They are DELUDED. They've barely won a trophy for more than 10 years and there's another major rebuilding job required. And it's going to take time. Martin is as good as anyone to do it. He's got decent experience as a manager. He had a tough job at MK Dons but he kept them up and progressed. It was similar at Swansea and then, don't forget, he did get Southampton promoted from the Championship. That's a brutal division to get out of, but he did it playing good football. If anyone watched their play-off win against Leeds, they would have seen it wasn't all tippy-tippy stuff either. They did it the hard way and weren't afraid to go long. Martin has a reputation for being a purist and stubborn in sticking to his ways, but he has shown he can adapt and evolve. I only met him a few times when he was at Norwich City and he always came across as an intelligent, principled character. He wants his teams to play a certain way and Rangers fans should be happy to hear this stuff. When was the last time this club played attractive football, or had some kind of identity? I certainly can't remember it. There's no doubt Martin has a tough job on his hands. He will want to play his way but he'll need the players to do it. Recruitment will be absolutely critical to his plans, otherwise it will be an uphill struggle. But Rangers fans need to be patient and give him a chance. I'm not saying they will compete or even win the league this coming season. But I am saying it's NOT impossible. You look at the results last season and where the points were dropped. It's not that big a stretch to think with some decent signings they can get the better of the rest of the teams in Scotland and then go up against Celtic. It might not happen straight away but there's no point writing him off before he's sat in the dugout. This is a support that welcomed the likes of Pedro Caixinha and Michael Beale with open arms, they gave Gerrard a thunderous welcome when he'd never been a manager. They were preparing to do it again for Ancelotti, despite having never been out from under his dad's wing. Martin has got experience – and he's also got experience of life at the club. Some people are throwing his tough spell at Ibrox as a player at him. But that could work in his favour. He saw what it was like at rock bottom and the extreme pressure that comes with it. And yet he still took the job. That says a lot. A lot of folk would have run a mile. He's a strong character and he'll need to be. He'll need to completely shake off the loser mentality at the club and that won't be straight forward. Martin could be a good appointment but, at the same time, I doubt Celtic will be too concerned. They need to take care of their own business – and they have to assume Rangers WILL be much improved next season. It's a quiet part of the summer right now but time is ticking and Celtic will need to get into gear. In an ideal world you'd have two or three new faces reporting for the first day of pre-season, giving them time to bed in ahead of the new campaign and the crucial Champions League qualifiers. The transfer market doesn't always work that way but they will need to move quickly to bring in at the very least three new players. Celtic can't afford to sit on their hands and they have to see there's a chance to put the food down early while Rangers get used to the new coaching team and regime.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Ryan Reynolds gets harsh Jamie Vardy to Wrexham truth as transfer budget clear
Wrexham have been linked with several Premier League stars, including Leicester's Jamie Vardy, this summer, with a senior figure now making their financial position clear An advisor to Wrexham 's Hollywood owners has made it clear the club is "a million miles away" from being able to afford star signings like Jamie Vardy. The Welsh side, backed by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have been linked with a string of big names in the summer transfer window following their promotion to the Championship. Vardy is one of the players who has most frequently been connected with a move to the Racecourse Ground. The striker announced his decision to leave Leicester at the end of the season in April and said he wants to continue playing football. However, Les Reed, who sits on Wrexham's transfer committee, has now confirmed the 38-year-old is unlikely to see out the rest of his career in North Wales. Reed, who was previously involved in taking Southampton from League One to the Premier League, set out the reality of the club's financial position during an interview with the i Paper. He said: "Let's take an equivalent of Jamie Vardy. Everyone thinks he's out of contract, there's no transfer fee, Wrexham could do that. You're talking about players who are on £140,000 a week. We are a million miles away from that because we don't get Premier League revenues or broadcasting money. "We will have a decent budget. Everyone externally thinks we've got an unlimited budget because of our owners, but that's not true. We'll have a good budget simply because we've got very good revenues. "That's the benefit of the owners. It's not their deep pockets, it's their ability to generate higher revenues, which enables us to spend within the regulations and [offer] decent salaries." Vardy is one of several seasoned Premier League campaigners Wrexham have been linked with, including Fulham captain Tom Cairney and Tottenham's Ben Davies. Wolves defender Craig Dawson and West Ham duo Aaron Cresswell and Danny Ings are also rumoured to be of interest to manager Phil Parkinson. But Reed, who once had an ill-fated spell as manager of Charlton in the Premier League, said the club is now looking to lower the average age of the squad. It follows the Red Dragons recently saying goodbye to their two oldest players in stalwart goalkeeper Mark Howard and veteran striker Steven Fletcher, both aged 38. "In the Championship, they [new signings] will need to be athletic," said Reed. "It's not swansong land for players who are having one more go before they retire. Our ambition will be to drive the average age down, but at the same time remain competitive. "We can't just go 'that's it, we're only going for younger players'. A couple of clubs recently – and I won't mention their names – have done that, and it hasn't worked. It will be a mix." Meanwhile, another ex-Premier League boss has not ruled out the possibility of Wrexham achieving an astonishing fourth successive promotion next term. Reynolds and McElhenney have made no secret of their ambition of taking their club all the way to the top and former Stoke manager Tony Pulis believes it could happen. "Phil Parkinson has experience of Championship football," Pulis told BoyleSports. "He'll understand what's needed. I don't care what anybody says, to get three promotions on the bounce is just exceptional. "They are in such a positive place at the moment, the crowd are behind them massively and they'll have to be next year as well because the level moves up again, but nothing is impossible. "The fans will really get behind them and it's going to be an interesting league next year. It'll be interesting to see what Wrexham do and what they can achieve." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sign up to our newsletter! Wrexham is the Game is great new way to get top-class coverage Wrexham AFC is the arguably the fastest-growing club in the world at the moment thanks to a certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The Dragons have achieved two consecutive promotions and are cheered on by crowds from not only North Wales but also from all over the globe, thanks to the success of the Disney+ documentary 'Welcome to Wrexham'. But does it have a dedicated, quality source of information piped through to your inbox each week, free of ads but packed with informed opinion, analysis and even a little bit of fun each week? That's where Wrexham is the Game steps in... Available every Wednesday, it provides all the insights you need to be a top red. And for a limited time, a subscription to 'Wrexham is the Game' will cost fans just £15 for the first year.
