Norwich City column: Edward Seaman calls for patience in long-term project amid testing run of results

It's becoming increasingly difficult to hide from the fact that it has been a challenging period for Johannes Hoff Thorup and Norwich City.

A run of two wins from 13 Championship games speaks for itself – form that equates to 11 points out of a possible 39.

Even if we do beat Millwall at Carrow Road on Boxing Day (3pm), that's the record of a team focusing on the wrong end of the table to where we would like, and expect, to be.

It would be amiss of me to expect anyone to be happy with recent results, but this week's column is a renewed call for patience; for belief in the long-term project at play.

Perhaps several emphatic early season wins set the bar too high, but before a ball was even kicked this campaign had the word ‘transition’ written all over it, if we're completely honest.

A new philosophy, key players sold and a youthful recruitment policy is hardly the recipe for instant success.

Nor is having a core group of ageing players, who know they are not part of the club's long-term future, waiting for their contracts to expire.

It was always going to take at least three transfer windows to clean up the mess and put together a squad capable of challenging for promotion.

That's not to write this season off. It's imperative that our form starts to improve, especially with a kinder run of fixtures over the festive period. Momentum is so key in football and as we know, victories breed confidence.

But those performances against Watford, Hull and Plymouth should serve as a reminder that this project has serious potential.

Even the first-half performance against Sunderland shows we can compete with the best teams in this league, along with positive results against Sheffield United and Leeds.

It may feel like it at times, but I don't think we are a million miles away from the good times returning.

Merry Christmas to all readers, especially those on this journey with me.