Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper has opened up on why David Wagner was not the right fit for the Canaries.

Wagner was dismissed within hours of the club’s abject Championship play-off exit to Leeds in May, after delivering a top six spot in his only full season in charge at Carrow Road.

But Knapper’s drive for a ‘new direction’ led to the appointment of highly-rated Danish head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The City figurehead spoke publicly for the first time on the reasons behind his post-season head coach shuffle at Thorup’s official unveiling on Friday.

“David's a fantastic head coach. There's no doubt about that. He's a fantastic person and he's a fantastic head coach, and what he's achieved in his career speaks for itself,” he said. “But where we are in our journey, and our evolution at this club, I felt we needed something new and a little bit different in terms of playing style - in terms of pathways, openness to developing youth players - and really giving a platform to some of the talent that we've got in our environment.

“In respect of those things, I felt that something different was required. I spoke at the start, when I first arrived at the club, about the kind of football that I enjoy and my ideas of the game - that doesn't make them right – but I'm a product of the environment I spent a long time in.

"That's the kind of football that I like to see and I think it aligns really well with where we want to go as an organisation, right from the top from the ownership all the way down.

“I felt there was a little shift needed. And, like I have said, Johannes embodies exactly the direction that we want to move in.”

Knapper was parachuted into his post last November, with City in the midst of an alarming slide down the table and Wagner batting away questions about his future.

“Look, it's an intense role. There's a lot of focus on the club. When I look back now, mid-November when I joined, which is, what, a little over seven months ago, it feels a long time already,” he said. “A lot has happened, things change quick in this game. It's an intense league. I saw that myself.

"I think when I signed the contract to join this club, we were maybe fifth in the league. And by the time that I walked through the door we were 17th, so you get a sense there of how fast things can change.

“Then, of course, to make the finish that we made to the season was fantastic. So lots can happen, which makes it feel like you've travelled a long way in what can sometimes be a short time.

"But I have been in the building over seven months and this (appointment) feels now like a really exciting step, one that really feels like the start for me.”