Norwich City

Marc Webber
BBC Radio 5Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The January transfer window becomes crucial if you are in a pickle.

And Norwich City are still in a positional pickle in the Championship, even though Philippe Clement has got them close to an escape.

So, the club has to be a player in this window.

It will be Norwich's most crucial and fascinating window for a long while. But that's not because of who they will buy, but more who will do the buying.

Sporting director Ben Knapper has been roundly condemned for his purchases in the recent windows. The shouts of "Knapper Out" at Carrow Road early in the season are testament to fan sentiment around his decisions.

There is a feeling he is at the last chance saloon in terms of the previous purchases he has made. But, to be fair, he is starting to get credit for some late bloomers, like Jovon Makama.

However, the new head coach is no mug. And you get the sense he would have demanded more control over new signings as part of his contract.

So, the question is, who is calling the shots on Norwich's transfer window?

Is Knapper leading decisions to prove to fans he knows what he is doing? Or is Clement steering the ship, with Knapper crossing the T's and dotting the I's? Or, is it a mix?

Only time - and new faces - will tell.

As long as it takes Norwich forward, do fans care who calls the shots?

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Norwich City boss Philippe Clement insisted that the Canaries still have much work to do to avoid relegation from the Championship.

Clement felt his side faded in their 2-0 home loss to Stoke and said they must all improve.

He told BBC Radio Norfolk: "I had the feeling at half-time that we could grab the game and make the difference in the second half, and give an extra push with our team.

"But we didn't realise that on the pitch and also the changes we made, we didn't raise our level. I think on Stoke's side, they raised their level with the changes they made, so in the second half, they were better and deserved this win.

"I know the reality. I know we're not where we want to be, so we know there's still a lot of work to be done with making players here better and making them more fit, and also getting in new players to raise the level."

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has been looking ahead to their Championship clash with Stoke City on Sunday (15:00 GMT) when they will be looking for a fourth win in six games.

Here are some of the key points:

• A few players have knocks ahead of their fifth game in 15 days. There are no major injury issues but a few players will be assessed right up to kick-off.

• Papa Amadou Diallo is expected back in light training next week after injury. The Senegalese winger has been out since September.

• Clement has been delighted by the team spirit in recent weeks. He says he‘s pleased to see players who haven’t been selected celebrating wins just as much as those who have.

• The head coach is asking home fans to turn up the volume and help the players through the last game or a busy spell. He says the players have been enjoying hearing new chants and songs from the stands about themselves.

• Clement was full of praise for Stoke boss Mark Robins. He says they have a clear way of playing and reminds Norwich fans not to forget that most teams are still above them in The Championship so they will need to keep producing good performances to escape the bottom three.

You can listen to full live commentary of Norwich City v Stoke City with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 14:00 on Sunday.

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Norwich boss Philippe Clement praised winger Matej Jurasek for his contribution to their 2-0 Championship win at Queens Park Rangers.

The 22-year-old Czech has struggled to establish himself since arriving at Carrow Road from Slavia Prague 12 months ago on a five-and-a-half-year contract.

The game against QPR was only his sixth start for the club but he provided the cross which enabled Josh Sargent to head Norwich in front early in the second half.

Jurasek had earlier had a chance to score his first Canaries goal, but was denied by a save from Paul Nardi.

"We've been working really hard with Matej - and he's been working really hard to get physically better so he can play his game," Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"We know his technical qualities and it was not only that action [the cross for the goal], he had several other good ones also.

"I think he can be in the next couple of months like a new transfer and we will need that to get to where we want to get to."

Jovon Makama scored Norwich's second goal as the Canaries moved to within a point of safety by climbing to 22nd place.

But Clement revealed it had been touch and go whether the young forward would be involved because of illness.

The Belgian boss said: "He didn't train for two days because he had a fever. But he wanted to be here and I wanted to have him if there was a possibility he felt better.

"We tried to get him on the pitch and he showed resilience - I think he is taking really big steps on the mental side. A few weeks ago, he would not have played this game."

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Norwich City boss Philippe Clement was proud of his side's improved physicality as they made it three wins from their last five games by beating Queens Park Rangers.

Josh Sargent and Jovon Makama were on target in the second half and the Canaries are now only one point behind Portsmouth, the team immediately above the relegation places.

"It's a difficult place to come because the pitch makes it hard to play the football we normally want to play, so that's a very positive point that the team showed they can adapt to the circumstances against a team with a strong home reputation," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"You see a team where everybody is fighting, where everybody is doing a job and the players are growing physically and mentally.

"We saw the defence of QPR was struggling against our players in the first half so we wanted to give a big push because we still had the power - two or three months ago, everyone was talking about the physical downfall in the second half and now we can give an extra push.

"Those are important things if you want to be successful and when you want to get consecutive results."

Norwich are at home to Stoke City on Sunday and their squad depth has been increased by the return of goalkeeper Vicente Reyes from a loan spell at Peterborough United.

Phil Daley
Sports Editor, BBC Norfolk

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Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has spoken to the media before their trip to QPR in the Championship on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

Norwich are in the relegation zone, four points adrift of safety.

Here are some of the key points:

• Jovon Makama was a little sick after the game on Boxing Day - Clement says they will "assess him to see if he's at full power for the trip to QPR".

• There is no other "special news" regarding other players, so he has no new injuries to contend with after the Watford defeat.

• On January transfer window - "It's clear we need creativity in the final third - everyone is on the same page with that".

• More on transfer window - "For me it's about quality, age is not the most important thing. Of course if you can add quality and leadership, it's better, but it's a difficult window".

• On QPR - "It's been a challenging period playing teams who are in form and QPR are another team in good form".

• Message to the fans - Clement says he appreciates the big following from Norwich fans - especially as some of them will have had a late night on New Year's Eve. He says they will be working hard to get the team where they need to be.

You can listen to full live commentary of QPR v Norwich City with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 14:00 on New Year's Day.

Queens Park Rangers will look to get within striking distance of the top six as they host bottom three side Norwich City on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

The Hoops are three points short of sixth placed Watford but trail by eight goals to see it unlikely they will kick-off 2026 in a play-off place.

While at the other end of the table, it's a similar story for Norwich. They are four points away from safety but a win would have their fans feeling much more optimistic for the new year.

• Queens Park Rangers beat Norwich City 3-0 in this fixture last season, last registering home wins in back-to-back EFL campaigns against the Canaries in 2016-17/2017-18 under Ian Holloway.

• Norwich City beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 in the reverse fixture back in November and will now be aiming to win back-to-back league meetings with QPR for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

• Queens Park Rangers won 3-1 at home to Watford on New Year's Day last year, last winning on January 1st in back-to-back years in 2007/2008 (vs Colchester and Leicester).

• Norwich City have only won one of their last eight away games played on New Year's Day (D4 L3), though it did come last year when beating Luton Town 1-0 at Kenilworth Road.

• Norwich City have lost six of their last nine league matches in London (W1 D2), with their only win in this sequence coming via a 3-2 victory at Millwall in March 2023.

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Norwich City hope winger Papa Amadou Diallo will be ready to return to action next month.

The 21-year-old from Senegal had to go off with a thigh injury in the 3-2 home defeat by Wrexham on 20 September which later needed surgery.

"I saw him before his injury and he is clearly somebody who suits the way we want to play, so he is an interesting player for the weeks and months to come," head coach Philippe Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Of course, he's been out a long time and we need to see that we build him in a consistent way without taking risks, so that's what we will do.

"Even when the eagerness is big to put him [in the team], it will be the right amount of minutes.

"Papa will be like a new transfer for us in January and I hope a few more [additions], not only coming out of the injury room, and we can grow as a squad together."

Norwich have taken 12 points from eight games since former Rangers boss Clement was appointed last month but are still next to bottom of the Championship going into Monday's home game against Watford [19:45 GMT].

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Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement says his side's clean sheet was as important as the three points in their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic.

it was the first time since 30 August that the Canaries had not conceded a goal in the league.

The victory continued Norwich's resurgence under new boss Clement - they have lost only once in their past seven games and are now just a point from safety.

"We get a clean sheet because we defended really well as a team," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"It's not that Vladan Kovacevic had to make really amazing saves, or you can have several chances against and you can have a clean sheet with luck. That was totally not the case.

"The team did a very good defensive job against a team who's really dangerous in a specific way with their long balls, their fight, their duels, diagonals and set pieces.

"So keeping them away from our goal was also a really important part of winning today."