It’s far from an exaggeration to say that Norwich City could have been heading to Tottenham on the back of four successive wins and moving out of the relegation zone.

The start to the Dean Smith era has felt like a honeymoon period in comparison to the start of the campaign - but should have been even better.

City deserved to beat Wolves but just couldn’t make the most of their chances, then at Newcastle a major opportunity for an away win against a direct rival was spurned in disappointing fashion.

Who could have dared dream at the start of November that Canaries fans would feel frustrated about only taking eight points from a possible 12?

Just how costly could missing out on those extra four points be though? That will come down to whether Smith and Craig Shakespeare are laying the groundwork for long-term change or just inspiring a short-term bounce.

The new City boss said at Friday's press conference that he felt his team were already becoming harder to beat, challenging his players to become more ruthless in front of goal and to be braver on the ball.

During the three games of the new era so far, not including penalties, Norwich have conceded an average of 2.3 shots on target as opposed to 5.5 from the 11 games prior to Daniel Farke’s exit.

That is from a small sample size and Tuesday was against 10 men for 80 minutes, although it is balanced out by the first 45 minutes of the Smith era when Southampton were rampant at Carrow Road.

It’s a similar story for overall attempts at goal, again not including penalties. City have conceded an average of 10 in Smith’s first three, against an average of 16 in the opening 11 games.

For the season overall, four teams currently concede more attempts at their own goal than Norwich (14.7), with Leeds, Leicester and Newcastle trailing Burnley (16.7).

Yet if Norwich can keep the average under Smith anywhere close to 10 that would be among the best defensive records in the division, with Manchester City averaging just 6.6 ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea (both 9.3).

Those defensive credentials are sure to come under far greater scrutiny at Tottenham, who go into the weekend sixth and just two points adrift of the Champions League places, despite the acrimony around their nosedive in form after initially winning their first three.

Driven by demanding new boss Antonio Conte and with top drawer players such as Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, Spurs will almost certainly pose far more threat than winless Newcastle did.

It should be a game that gets City back to the style that Smith appeared to be enjoying excellent progress with against Wolves.

Pressing hard, pushing higher up the pitch and retaining tactical structure were combined with counter-attacking probes, led by the impressive Milot Rashica - whose injury absence of around three weeks is cruelly timed.

After the early red card, Newcastle conceded they were on the back foot, dropped deep and left City to try and break them down. It became a very different challenge suddenly and the game plan didn’t adjust appropriately.

Tomorrow is likely to be much closer to the Wolves game, with the hosts dictating possession but Norwich straining every sinew to keep them as far from Tim Krul’s penalty box as possible.

Not that there should be any fear about playing Spurs. They’ve won five of their last six home games and are dangerous opponents but Smith has already conjured an element of fearlessness in the City squad, that must become a key pillar of the collective mindset if survival is to be achieved.

Amid the recent improvements, it’s been great to see Ben Gibson getting back to his best as well, with his passing rhythm and ability to bring the ball out of defence returning alongside the committed defensive work as he recovers full match sharpness after his ankle injury.

The 28-year-old earned England call-ups while playing for Middlesbrough in the top flight in 2016-17 and while it may be frustrating for young talents Andrew Omobamidele and Ozan Kabak as they push for recalls, Smith turning to the experience of Gibson and Grant Hanley has been vindicated so far.

With headline summer signings Rashica and Mathias Normann missing in the short term, remaining hard to beat will be crucial to gaining more points from a tough run of December games that will prove decisive to starting 2022 with hope and optimism.

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