David Wagner has put his Norwich City players on notice any repeat of a lethargic Championship offering at Bristol City will not be tolerated.
Wagner admitted the Canaries could have no complaints after a 1-0 defeat at Ashton Gate on Saturday, but wants to take out that frustration on Hull City on Tuesday back at Carrow Road.
City have slipped four points out of the play-off picture, but the focus remains on performances not the league table for the head coach.
“If you like to look at it, do it, I will not do it. Because at the minute it doesn't give you a clear message because everything can change in three days,” he said. “We are focused on our performances. This is what we really can influence.
“With wins it is possible to pick up a lot of points in a row. We haven't done it at Bristol, and we haven't done it because of our performance, which was not good enough to deserve something.
"We have to do our part, in terms of the intensity and the energy and hopefully with this energy as well you can create moments to put pressure on the opponent.
"At home on Tuesday against Hull at Carrow Road it should be an uncomfortable night for the opponent. They shouldn’t come to our place and enjoy themselves. It should be anything but enjoyable.
“A poor first half. We started slow, we had too many touches, passed too often backwards or sideways rather than forward. Second half, better, we passed forward with more energy and intensity without creating clear cut chances.
"This is what we still missed. One shot on target is not good enough. If we have so much ball possession we have to convert that into better opportunities.”
Arsenal loanee Marquinhos will again be absent against the Tigers with a muscle issue that requires further assessment. The Brazilian teenage wide player joined in the closing days of the January transfer window but has yet to feature.
Christos Tzolis also sat out the trip to Bristol to work on his fitness. The Greek endured an injury-hit loan move to FC Twente after suffering knee ligament damage but made a 20-minute cameo the previous weekend in the home defeat to Burnley.
“We have to make further investigations (on Marquinhos) this week to assess if it's more than only these two games,” said Wagner. “Christos, we decided early in the week that he had to catch up fitness-wise with an individual programme which we decided to do and that meant he would miss this game.
"Due to the injuries he had in the past he felt, and we felt, that he needs to catch up and we decided to make it now so that he can be available for the next games in front of us.”
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