David Wagner defended Norwich City’s ‘brave’ approach to grinding out a 1-1 Championship draw against Russell Martin’s Southampton at Carrow Road on New Year’s Day.
The Canaries deployed a defensive five shape and carved out only 25% possession but Josh Sargent levelled to cancel out Adam Armstrong’s close range second half finish.
Armstrong’s strike sparked frustration among some home fans directed at Wagner’s tactical set-up, but the German insisted it was the right call after limited time at Colney to prepare during a congested festive spell.
“I can’t do what the fans would like me to do. I have to do what I am convinced is the best way to win a football match,” he said. “We were convinced that this is the shape and the formation which can bring us success.
“If you now look back at when they had the most clear-cut chances it was in the last 15 minutes, where we played with the four in the backline. If someone has a tactical view of this game it is quite easy to make sense of what we had to do to get a result.
“You shouldn’t be scared about making brave decisions and the biggest bravery was we were only able to work for six minutes on it on the training pitch. This was the only thing where I had a headache with. Not if this will be the right decision. We all, together, were always sure that this was the right decision. It was only can we do it with so limited time?
“You have to do the right things against certain opponents and obviously against the in form team in the league who play a certain style you have to adapt, and you have to make sure to set your team up in the right way.
“In the last nine days there is more or less no time for training, it is more about recovery. Our training session on Sunday was 45 minutes, there was a warm up and there was some unit work, one part of individual training, and the proper tactical work on the grass, where you were able to work intensely on what we could face with Southampton, was two three minute spells.
“Obviously we worked a little bit longer in the tactical walk through and in the video analysis.
“it was pretty clear and easily decided that we like to go with the 5-4-1 to limit the spaces in the pockets and obviously to limit the space in behind as well. This means, automatically, then you have less possession, and you have to be strong to keep some passes together to be good in the transition.
“From my point of view, it was a fantastic performance. Very good what the players have shown and this is why I can say it was a tough point and a solid point.”
