Norwich CIty: Mark Attanasio must not panic with Johannes Hoff Thorup situation | OneFootball

New Norwich City majority owner Mark Attanasio must stick with head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup, despite the recent decline in form.

It has been an incredibly disappointing few weeks for Norwich City in the Championship.

Norwich finished sixth in the table last season, but they suffered heartbreak as they were beaten 4-0 by Leeds United in the play-off semi-finals, and head coach David Wagner was sacked the day after the humilation at Elland Road.

Johannes Hoff Thorup made the move from FC Nordsjaelland to take over from Wagner, and after a slow start to his tenure, it looked as though he was beginning to make an impact.

However, the Canaries are now without a win in their last six games, and they suffered their third consecutive defeat as they were beaten 2-0 by Bristol City at Carrow Road before the international break - their first home loss for over a year.

Norwich currently sit 14th in the table, just three points above the relegation zone, and they are already seven points adrift of the play-off places ahead of the game against fifth-placed West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

There have been plenty of changes on the pitch at Norwich in recent months, but there have also been big developments in the boardroom, with Mark Attanasio taking full control of the club and previous majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones becoming honorary life presidents.

Of course, it is still early in Thorup's reign, but new owners have often been known to make their own managerial appointments, and the Dane may fear that Attanasio could decide to make a change if the poor run of form continues.

Norwich City ownership developments will be a concern for Johannes Hoff Thorup

After Norwich comprehensively beat Hull City 4-0 before the October international break, they sat seventh in the Championship table, and many were starting to speculate whether they could be potential automatic promotion contenders.

Few could have predicted the decline in form that would follow, and aside from Middlesbrough, the Canaries would arguably have been expected to beat most of the teams they have faced during their current six-game winless run.

Speaking last week, Attanasio said that he was disappointed by Norwich's current form, but he pointed to the fact that the club were sitting in a similar position at this stage last season before going on to achieve a play-off finish.

"You live and die with every match. We do in baseball. This year our club was the only team in MLB that did not lose four in a row. The fact that we (Norwich) just lost three really hurts, and how we lost was worse," Attanasio told the BBC.

"In 20 seasons in sports, (I've learned) you're never as good as you think you are when you're going well and you're never as bad as you think you are when you're going poorly.

"We still could make the play-offs, we're exactly where we were (last season) and this team, if it's healthy, will be more dangerous in the play-offs this year than last year.

"It's why it's important to have a plan and to follow through and execute on that plan. We know we're moving in the right direction and we're going to keep doing things in that direction."

Those comments suggest that Attanasio remains fully behind Thorup for now, but there is a realistic chance that three defeats in a row could become four when the Canaries make the trip to West Brom on Saturday, and that would only increase the scrutiny on the 35-year-old.

Attansio also revealed that he is hoping to establish Norwich as a competitive Premier League side within the next five years, and he admitted that he would feel he had failed if the club did not reach the top flight during that time frame, so it is clear that he has big ambitions, which may be a concern for Thorup.

Mark Attanasio must be patient with Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich City

Norwich are a club with high expectations in the Championship, and Thorup is under pressure to deliver success, but his position should not be under any immediate threat.

Having been a minority shareholder for the last two years, Attanasio would likely have had some say in the decision to appoint Thorup, and he would have known that bringing in a young coach with no previous experience of English football was a risk.

Thorup was always going to need time to adapt to the second tier, and he had to contend with the departure of two key players in the summer in Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe, while other senior figures in the dressing room such as Ben Gibson, Danny Batth, Dimitris Giannoulis and Sam McCallum also moved on.

The Canaries did bring in nine new signings during the summer window, but many of those were young players, and the inconsistency that has been seen in the early months of the season is typical of what can happen when a club adopts such a transfer policy.

Thorup has also not been helped by a host of injuries to his stars, with Angus Gunn, Brad Hills, Liam Gibbs, Anis Ben Slimane, Onel Hernandez, Marcelino Nunez, Gabriel Forsyth, Ashley Barnes and Josh Sargent all sidelined at various points in recent weeks, while Kenny McLean is currently serving a four-game suspension.

This was always likely to be a transitional season at Carrow Road, and while that does not mean that Thorup gets a pass for poor form, there needs to be an understanding among the Norwich hierarchy that it may be tough for them to replicate last season's play-off finish.

With the injury crisis now beginning to ease, there will be fewer excuses available for Thorup, but even if his side's struggles continue for a little longer, it would be far too soon for Attanasio to pull the plug on what should be viewed as a long-term project.