Will Jennings: In defence of Norwich City boss David Wagner

That noisy, negative, miserable minority that continue to pipe up on social media just will not reconsider their position on David Wagner and still refuse to give the Norwich City boss the credit he deserves.

Trust me, having been at most games this season, I don’t think this is a view shared by the majority of match-going fans.

And having also been at Birmingham during that admittedly disappointing final day display, it was not necessarily a feeling voiced by those 2,000-plus Canaries who made the effort to travel to the West Midlands.

Yes, Wagner did not help himself with his inflammatory - but somewhat understandable - post-match comments.

And yes, his football may occasionally not be the most flamboyant or free-flowing to watch.

But with City sealing a place in the play-offs and a stirring two-legged semi-final against Leeds on the horizon, I just cannot understand the misery of many who clearly enjoy the sound of their own voices, think they know it all and still ridiculously write off the top six securing manager.

It’s the play-offs, lads.

Is it really too much to expect fans to lighten up, get up for and be enthusiastic about two of the biggest games in the club’s modern history?

This is not a column to engender division ahead of a hugely exciting couple of weeks in store.

In fact, it’s the total opposite - the majority of people I know are hugely excited and acutely aware that Wagner has done a magnificent job in turning this season around.

Instead, it’s a call to arms to tell the moaning minority that whatever you think of Wagner, it’s now time to get behind your team, ditch the negativity and back the boss to guide us towards the Premier League.

Supporting Norwich City is not a competition.

Regardless of your views, we should all want our team to prosper and win as many games as possible.

But sadly, there seems to remain many who made their minds up back in October, are petrified of being proved wrong and therefore hellbent on slagging off the manager from behind their laptops at every opportunity available.

Wagner is not immune to criticism.

While I disagree with many that he is inherently negative in his approach, you can’t dispute our questionable away record and the number of winning positions we have frustratingly let slide.

When we lose, it’s always Wagner’s fault.

But when we win, it’s moments of ‘individual quality’ - ostensibly in spite of Wagner - that haul us over the line.

Nonsense.

Hypothetically, if we had sacked Wagner in November and this remarkable run had been engineered by an unknown replacement, we people would all be singing their praises and hailing them as the next Pep Guardiola.

But not Wagner, a man who has miraculously managed to steer an injury-ravaged squad into the top six but continues to get a rough deal with fans in certain quarters.

Me, and the majority of Carrow Road who don’t behave like entitled football experts on social media, will be firmly behind our side on Sunday lunchtime.

And just several days later, all of us crammed into the Elland Road away end will be nothing but buzzing about the prospect of our boys hopefully heading to Wembley.

City are just 180 minutes from getting there and if you strip away all the noise, have every possible chance of doing so.

Despite the over-amplified social media pessimism - and complaints around the club’s ticket prices for the home leg - Carrow Road will be a yellow and green cauldron come 12pm on Sunday.

And if Wagner’s players can channel the intensity, tempo and dynamism of that memorable derby day triumph in front of a similar atmosphere last month, there is no reason why we can’t travel to Yorkshire next week with an advantage to cling on to.

Even if we do, then manage to progress over two legs, book our place in the final and secure a surprise return to the Premier League, there will still be those out there who continue to get a strange kick out of being unnecessarily negative and putting the boot in on Wagner.

But I think I speak for many when I say I’d be nothing but thrilled for the unfairly under-fire City boss, a man who has admirably battled back from adversity and steered us to the brink of yet more Wembley nirvana.