New sporting director Ben Knapper will bring his Norwich City start date forward to Monday amid underperformance on the pitch. 

The 36-year-old was due to begin his role at Carrow Road later this month but has agreed to bring his start date forward as Norwich's slump down the Championship table continues after Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers. 

Stuart Webber, who was in Brazil on club business over the weekend, will officially depart his role on Saturday. 

Knapper was named as Webber's successor in October and the pair were due to hold a handover period - but that has been scrapped amid a run of eight defeats in 11 Championship matches. 

City's defeat on Sunday sparked a furious reaction from supporters, who called for under pressure head coach David Wagner to be relieved of his duties and turned their anger towards Webber and the board. 

After extensive meetings in the days that have followed, Knapper has agreed to start prematurely as City bid to get themselves out of a tricky situation in the Championship. 

Knapper officially left Arsenal last month and was due to take time between roles - but will be parachuted in to provide certainty to City's footballing department. 

Webber departs the club after a controversial six-year spell at Carrow Road that included two Championship title wins, two relegations and three head coach appointments - culminating in Wagner last January. 

He is due to take a break from football to achieve a personal ambition of climbing Mount Everest before assessing his next challenge thereafter. 

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, City said: "The board would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Stuart for his hard work and dedication to the club over the last seven years, a period during which he oversaw two EFL Championship titles and promotions to the Premier League, as well as a transformation of the club’s facilities at the Lotus Training Centre.

"Continued progress on and off the pitch is what everyone at Norwich City wants and expects. The board acknowledges the frustration and concern in the club’s recent on-field performances, but it remains together in its commitment to supporting its players and staff through this challenging period."