Iwan Roberts: Thorup has managed City issues with assurance so far

A loss on the opening day at newly promoted Oxford United with one of his star players refusing to play at The Kassam Stadium.

Then before he’s been able to draw breath one of his most promising youngsters hands in a transfer request thinking the grass is greener elsewhere.

Add to that his team's failure to hold on to a lead. It's not easy for the most experienced head coach let alone one who’s only 35 and three weeks into his new role.

So needless to say I was delighted for the football club when they finally got their first league win of the season last Saturday lunchtime.

As I was driving up the A11, A14 and M6 to The Hawthorns early Saturday morning I saw so many cars with their yellow and green scarves out the window making their way up to the Coventry Building Society Arena.

I’m sure all those Canary supporters would have enjoyed their journeys back to Norfolk and hopefully Johannes would have enjoyed a large glass of wine to celebrate his first win in the Championship, hopefully there will be plenty more.

There’s such a demand nowadays to play expansive attractive football and I get it, after all supporters want to be entertained, that's why they spend their hard-earned money every week supporting their club. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching football being played with intensity and a quick tempo. I love watching counter attacking football when teams break from their own final third with pace. But I’ve always maintained you still have to get the balance defensively spot on and the lads did that last Saturday.

Callum Doyle has settled quicker than snow which doesn’t surprise me, he did last season at The King Power. Norwich supporters are already purring over what they’ve seen from him so far.

If he and Shane Duffy can form a formidable partnership in the heart of that City defence the teams got a chance. There's partnerships all over the pitch but the one between the two central defenders is the most crucial one if you ask me.

Any successful team need and have to get that right otherwise you’ve no chance.

Callum Doyle has settled well at Carrow Road (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Saturday’s away win was Norwich’s seventh in their last 29 away Championship games and only their third clean sheet in 24 league games. These statistics are quite simply not good enough and need a drastic improvement going forward.

They will get a chance in just over a week's time when they make the long journey to South Wales and the swansea.com stadium, but more about that next week.

Sometimes the international breaks can come at a good time for a club particularly if they are in a poor run of form.

However, this International break has come at the wrong time for Johannes and his players. After beating Coventry a weekend off is the last thing they would have wanted.

Having got a little bit of momentum the lads would have been chomping at the bit to get back out there and try and win back-to-back games since March when they beat Rotherham and Stoke.

I’m sure even at this early stage of the season the lads will be given some time off.

Some will be away on international duties so won't get as much down time, but every member of the squad come next Monday or when the international boys report back need to come bouncing through the gates up at Conley.