Johannes Hoff Thorup’s competitive Carrow Road bow on Tuesday is less about League Cup progress at Stevenage’s expense, and more another opportunity to work on his playing style overhaul.
Thorup arrived in Norfolk with a reputation as a coach wedded to a clear philosophy honed at FC Nordsjaelland, but pre-season and the opening day Championship defeat at Oxford contained too many uncomfortable moments for many watching City fans.
Patience remains the mantra, but the Dane also wants to see visible signs of that evolution.
“We are building something here, and we were trying to change the way that we play and the way that we perform just a little bit,” he said. “We are trying to change the strategy in the club to play with a little bit of a younger squad.
“Of course it needs to be clear from day one what we do, but while we are building we have to perform every Saturday (or Tuesday). We were never going to be perfect from day one, but we have to make sure that we find that right balance so we can perform, knowing that it will not be perfect.
“We still have some way to go, and that’s natural. That’s how it is. And with the transfer window still open, so, so many things can happen. We just have to make sure that we can perform, and hopefully expect in the future that it will be even better.
“It’s a cup game, and it’s important one for us, but what we have to understand is that we we’re still building something here which should be sustainable for many years going forward, and that it will not happen in 24 hours.
“We get some clear answers now (at Oxford), and we keep working with the same mindset, with the same focus and being as prepared as possible. Games are important. Training is important. I think more or less every day is important.”
Thorup is mindful of Blackburn’s Championship visit this weekend, as he weighs up how to respond to an Oxford setback, and whether to fast-track the likes of Brad Hills, Abu Kamara and Kellen Fisher into the starting line up.
Summer signing Jose Cordoba is unlikely to feature again as he looks to manage a muscular issue, while fellow defensive arrival, Ben Chrisene, sat out the game at the Kassam with a back problem.
“He had pain in his back, which came a little bit unexpected and a little bit surprisingly in training the other day, and could not really take part,” said Thorup. “He was stiff in his back and could not really move so he was an easy decision for us to take. Not what we wanted, but that’s how it is.
“With Cordoba, I think maybe also still Tuesday (is too soon), we have to wait and see, because it’s not severe, and he was also training, and has been training, so it’s just about building him up. We don’t want him to play one or two games and then have a setback with an injury. No, we need to build him up.
“What’s important for us is that we’ll find that balance again by being able to perform on a higher level, but also, making sure that we prepare the next guys in line to take the next step in their career. So it’s always that balance. We have to improve from what we saw at Oxford.”
Adam Idah is finalising his move to Celtic after the clubs agreed a guaranteed £8.5m fee, plus £1m in potential add ons, on Monday. Jon Rowe is not available for selection after he was demoted to the Under-21s following his absence at Oxford, amid transfer interest from France.
Thorup wants a marked improvement from City’s laboured display at the Kassam.
“Overall, not good enough. I don’t think we took care of the moments in the game where we could have done better, and should have done better,” he said. “I think there was space, and also the space that we prepared for, but we were not good enough on the ball.
“We made too many mistakes out of nothing, where we could actually have accelerated the game and put more pressure on their box and their defensive line. So overall, not satisfied.
“That’s a part of the game. We have to be more solid. Also in defence, we cannot give a goal away like we did the first one. We actually have to accept sometimes we will be put under pressure. We have to make sure that we stick to the way that we defend, and we make sure that we do that as solid as possible.
“And then find the moments in the game where we can start controlling, because I think there were moments in the game we were a little bit too hectic on the ball, and gave it away too easily.”
If the tie is level after 90 minutes, the game will go straight to a penalty shoot-out.
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