Johannes Hoff Thorup insists now is the time to back not bury his injury-ravaged Norwich City.

Lifeless City’s 2-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday extended their winless run to five games, ahead of Bristol City’s Carrow Road visit.

Josh Sargent and Gabe Forsyth have joined a growing injury list, while Kenny McLean is suspended until after the upcoming international break.

Thorup conceded he had never known a casualty list like it in his coaching career.

“No, never. Never,” he said. “I'll not say the word survive, but we have to until after the game on Saturday and see who's fit.

”I count 15 or maybe 16 available players in the squad, and that's where we are, and we have to make it work, and we have to deal with it and get the best possible results out of it. 

“But it is a struggle and it is a tough time for everyone involved in this. That is why I will not blame many of the players, because this is not the time to do that. 

“We are in it together. When we win at home, and everyone is celebrating and enjoying it, we are together. And when we lose away, it should be the same.”

Thorup accepts a lacklustre midweek defeat at the Owls was well short of what he expects.

“I think the easy road to go down is to be emotional and to tell the players that it's simply not good enough,” he said. “But the way we have to go is find out how we deal with the situation.

“It's not the time for me to be too tough on the group. I would be if it's mainly experienced players not performing well. That's a different scenario. 

“We need to find that balance and make sure that we support them in the best possible way, because it is a group that needs some extra support and maybe some clarification on how we do things, and what we can actually expect going forward.

“I always expect a better performance than what we did (on Tuesday). I don't think it was close to being good enough. But it's also for me and the staff to find that balance. What can we actually expect?

“And now we've seen a good performance most of the time in Cardiff, and then Sheffield, where it was not close to being good enough. Maybe it also tells us that is where we are with this group.

“I don't think we should lower the expectations, but we should be realistic, and I think that’s important going into the game on Saturday.”