"Needs to improve dramatically" - Sky Sports pundit identifies what Norwich City simply must be better at | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has identified an area where Norwich City are desperately struggling

Sky Sports pundit, Don Goodman, believes Norwich City's defence has been behind their recent dip in form.

Norwich have lost a substantial amount of ground in the race for the top-six of late and are currently eight points adrift of the final play-off spot, which owes to a huge downturn in recent times.

After a slow start to life under Johannes Hoff Thorup, the Canaries warmed to the task and posted some form which marked them out as serious promotion candidates.

But form has taken a nosedive in recent weeks, with just two wins from their last 12 Championship outings serving as a huge fall from grace.

Don Goodman pulled no punches in his assessment of Norwich City's defence

Although Norwich weren't one of the main frontrunners tipped for promotion in pre-season, there is always an expectation that a club who've played in the Premier League fairly recently will challenge at the top end of the table.

Goodman believes that Norwich are still capable of doing so, but he insisted that they need to tighten up their defence if they're to climb the table.

He told CoinPoker: "The pressure is on for Norwich City. They got off to a slow start but had a seven-game unbeaten run when we all thought they had settled and the new head coach had implemented his style. They looked a threat to the top six.

"However, they have followed that with just two wins in 12 which doesn't make great reading. In those 12 games they've let 22 goals in, keeping just one clean sheet.

"They're conceding far too many goals to become a success. Only four sides have conceded more goals, so that side of things needs to improve dramatically.

"They're a similar team to Middlesbrough but are nowhere near the same level. They're scoring goals without Josh Sargent and his return will boost them but as long as they keep conceding goals, then they are going to struggle to bridge the gap to the top six."

Missing key players is also hindering Norwich City's season

It would be unfair to suggest that defensive struggles are the sole reason for Norwich's struggles of late, as injuries and suspension have also hit them hard, but they do need to tighten up at the back.

With 32 goals conceded this season, their defence is among the leakiest in the division, and while that problem is amplified without the goals of Josh Sargent, the absence of Kenny McLean is also hitting them hard.

Being without the captain seems to have led to a complete lack of organisation for the Canaries, who haven't won a league game without the Scot this season.