Norwich City still have plenty of reasons to be positive despite tough Premier League run

After three defeats on the bounce heading into the international break, it would easy for heads to drop at Norwich City.

The 5-1 mauling by Aston Villa last time out leaves City second bottom of the Premier League, with six points from their opening eight games.

It was City’s sixth defeat of the campaign – equalling the number suffered during the entirety of last season’s title-winning campaign.

Beyond the on-field struggles, the club are also in the midst of an injury crisis with Todd Cantwell and Kenny McLean the latest to spend time in the treatment room after pulling out of their international fixtures.

It’s a pandemic which has robbed our young squad of their leaders at a time when they are needed the most.

Adjusting to life in the Premier League was always going to be tough – to do so without the likes of Timm Klose, Christoph Zimmermann, Alex Tettey and Tim Krul makes the challenge even harder.

But with 30 games remaining, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

The first is the return of Tom Trybull, bringing some much-needed steel back into the midfield with Ibrahim Amadou currently seconded to centre-back.

I’m a big fan of both Moritz Leitner and McLean, and fully recognise what they bring, but as a combination they are too lightweight.

Another close to fitness is Onel Hernandez, who has not featured since the opening day after sustaining a freak knee injury slipping and falling at home.

Onel has been a massive miss – particularly away from home – where his pace and trickery add a different dimension to City’s attack.

It is also worth noting that while City may find themselves in 19th, they remain only three points behind Manchester United in 12th – the next team to visit Carrow Road. And with more players set to return soon – even a point at Bournemouth tomorrow would do us the world of good.