Paddy Davitt delivers his Wigan verdict after a Championship stalemate.

1. Joyless

At the end of this instantly forgettable affair – between two teams who seemingly still have it all to play for in the Championship – one of Wigan’s backroom staff came towards the near touchline and lifted, what you presumed to be his toddler son, onto the pitch.

The boy ran around with a tangible sense of enjoyment, while presumably his watching mother proudly captured every move on her phone before he was hooked for bed time.

It was a visible reminder, after the 90 minutes of dross that had preceded it, why those travelling fans give their time and money.

They want to be entertained, they want to see their team perform.

True. There was no lack of effort from David Wagner or his players. Wagner dipped deep into his substitutes for inspiration, but it proved an elusive quest to test Ben Amos.

One recorded shot on target was more a repeat of Bristol City than the uplifting episode at Carrow Road in midweek that swept Hull aside. But for Angus Gunn’s agility, it would have been a mirror image of the defeat at Ashton Gate.

Wigan were unbeaten in three, and scrapping for survival, but this was a side City had to deal with if they harbour realistic ambitions to gatecrash the play-off mix.

2. Last line of defence

Gunn junior hardly had anything to prove to regular watchers of Norwich City’s trials and tribulations this season, but after getting the nod from Wagner his role in Bristol City’s winner the previous weekend would surely have irked the keeper.

A big Valentine’s performance from the Canaries against Hull meant he had largely a watching brief. But against the Latics he clocked up plenty of overtime prior to the interval.

There were two smothering stops to foil Callum Lang and Will Keane inside the opening 12 minutes. Then he pushed away another longer range effort from Lang, before foiling the same Wigan attacker with an athletic tip over deep in first half stoppage time.

The second half brought one comfortable stop from a Lang free kick, as the sides bored each other into submission. But, all in all, this display showcased the shot-stopping instincts that had seen him emerge as arguably City’s most reliable performer in a patchy campaign.

Wagner hailed Gunn’s outing as one of the few positives he would take from this frustrating trip.

No need to reopen the keeper selection debate with Tim Krul. But this was a good day at the office for his rival.

3. Forward motion

Wagner indicated Josh Sargent’s half-time exit, with an ankle issue, already made him a ‘major doubt’ for Birmingham City’s upcoming midweek visit.

Stick Teemu Pukki in the same category, with the calf injury that saw him miss out in the north-west, and from plentiful stock when the German first arrived it could well be Adam Idah is the last man standing.

That itself is a concern given the Irishman’s own injury-hit campaign to this point, and the sense he is still some way from the match sharpness that only comes from regular game time.

City mustered one shot on target again for the second consecutive weekend. Sargent was on the scoreheet in that Tigers’ romp, but there is still something of a disconnect in performance at the top end of the pitch.

Under Wagner’s watch we have sat back and admired the goal fests at Preston and Coventry, and the home masterclass against Hull, but endured blanks against Burnley, Bristol City and now Wigan.

Should Idah be the only available recognised striker available for the Blues’ Carrow Road visit then there is an even greater onus on those in other areas of the team to step forward and shoulder the burden.

4. Mr Nunez

The Chilean found himself deployed in that advanced ‘number 10’ role after replacing Sargent at the interval.

Only a matter of weeks ago he looked a natural, in front of the watching Wagner at Colney, albeit against development opposition in Leeds United. Wagner subsequently indicated Nunez has the ability to operate across his midfield.

But that central, attacking pivot should have been a more natural invitation to showcase his wares than his start at Bristol down the left, in an outing that lasted only 45 minutes.

There was some fragments of positive link up play with Idah and Gabby Sara, and a few occasions when he offered some penalty box threat, but it was not the statement Nunez would have hoped to deliver.

There was even a juicy free kick opportunity in the same range as the magnificent goal he scored at Hull earlier in the campaign which he wastefully lifted into the Wigan wall.

If he harbours ambitions of nailing down a regular spot in a more advanced role than Dean Smith utilised him this was another chance spurned.

Should Wagner still be assessing who he feels are the options he can rely on in the future these are big moments in Nunez’s Norwich City career.

5. Opportunity knocks

Another second half cameo from Liam Gibbs. His fifth in six Championship games since Wagner’s arrival. That statistic alone should tell the young man he is knocking on the door to a regular starting spot.

But there were some extra words of encouragement from the German prior to this game.

Wagner labelled the former Ipswich Town youth prospect a ‘top talent’ and made it clear he is part of his longer term Carrow Road blueprint.

Gibbs is among a clutch of raw but precociously talented youngsters who, if this season does meander to a rather tame conclusion in terms of a Championship play-off bid, will find his stock soar even higher.

There were glimpses of his technique and his temperament in some robust midfield skirmishes, plus a good understanding down the Norwich right with Max Aarons in the brighter periods of second half threat from the Canaries.

But once City’s direction of travel this season is clear, beyond any doubt, then it would be reasonable to expect a player like Gibbs can emerge as part of the solution.

As Daniel Farke liked to say, it is not about giving young players ‘gifts’. Gibbs will have to earn it if he is to convince Wagner he can move from the shadows.