Norwich City column: Strikers need to rediscover form in front of goal if Canaries are to make the Championship play-offs
The international break has come at a good time for Norwich City.
Last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Stoke made it three games without a win for David Wagner’s Canaries.
In isolation, the point against Alex Neil’s in-form side was no disaster. It was certainly hard fought.
But on the back of disappointing performances and results against Sunderland and Huddersfield, it has seriously curtailed optimism that we can force our way into the play-off picture.
I completely understand those doubts because we all know the weaknesses of this Norwich team. They have been laid bare far too often this season.
Defensively we make far too many mistakes, while there remains question marks over our character and our ability to deal with challenging situations.
But to write off our chances would be a mistake.
With eight games to go we are just three points behind sixth-placed Millwall, with a slightly better goal difference to boot. And as inconsistent as we are, we have shown on a few occasions that we are capable of putting a run of wins together.
The key, for me, is getting our strikers to rediscover their goalscoring form. Both Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent have gone off the boil at exactly the wrong time – and need to step up.
Pukki has cut a frustrated figure in recent weeks and has now gone eight games without a goal. Even for a player with Teemu’s ability, that is bound to have an impact on his confidence.
Hopefully a spell with Finland over the international break can reinvigorate the 32-year-old as we head into the business end of the campaign.
When it comes to Sargent, you could argue he has struggled to make much of an impact since the World Cup. Since returning he has scored just two goals in 14 games; compared to nine in 19 leading up to Qatar. The contrast is stark.