Norwich City 0-2 Blackburn Rovers: Dean Smith under pressure as Rovers beat Canaries
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Norwich have won the title in their past two Championship seasons but are now losing touch with the automatic promotion places
Under-fire Norwich boss Dean Smith said sections of the Carrow Road crowd had been "waiting" for his side to struggle after their home defeat by Championship promotion rivals Blackburn.
The Canaries slid to their fourth home loss in seven games after Ben Gibson's own goal and a Tyrhys Dolan strike secured the points for Blackburn.
Disgruntled fans called for Smith's dismissal during the game and the Norwich head coach told BBC Radio Norfolk: "I think a lot of them have been waiting for this period to happen, or wanting it to - I don't know.
"A narrative's been set about it not being good football, despite us having the second or third highest shots in the league.
"Football's about opinions and sometimes you can't change that. Fortunately our next game's away from home because you feel like we have to score two very quick goals at home to get people on our side at the moment.
"I've been in football long enough to know you can turn things around and we'll be working hard to do that."
Victory for Rovers saw them return to third, within two points of the automatic promotion places, while Norwich slip to fifth - a further four points back.
Rovers brought six fresh faces into their starting XI and their reshuffled side wasted no time in seizing the initiative, as Tyler Morton floated a free-kick towards Sam Gallagher and it deflected off the unfortunate Gibson, deceiving goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
The early goal rocked Norwich and they struggled to get into the game, rarely testing Thomas Kaminski - who comfortably kept out Isaac Hayden's header from a corner.
Gabriel Sara and Danel Sinani both blazed wide from distance, but the Canaries produced little to excite their supporters, who chanted their displeasure at Smith and booed the team as they left the field at the end of each half.
Smith made attacking changes in the second half, with Onel Hernandez and Adam Idah both coming on as Norwich began to carve out openings.
The pair combined for a flowing move, but Idah's first touch let him down, while Josh Sargent was foiled by Adam Wharton's timely interception.
Blackburn wrapped up the points four minutes from time as Sammie Szmodics and Ben Brereton Diaz linked up to release Dolan, who cut inside and unleashed a shot that deflected past Gunn at his near post.
"Sometimes we built really well and got to the other side of the pitch, but we were still under pressure from our own supporters for not getting it forward a little bit quicker," Smith added.
"We've got a lot of players here who have won two titles and I thought some of the stick they got today was really poor.
"This is the madness of it - we win today and we go third. But it doesn't matter at the moment because people's mindset is there and they're entitled to their opinions."
Norwich majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones watched on at Carrow Road
Blackburn Rovers boss Jan Dahl Tomasson told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"A fantastic day, a great result and a brilliant performance. We asked for a reaction from the players after last week, when we underperformed, and we got one.
"We were on the front foot immediately, pressing our opponents. We were intense and used a lot of energy. We got their fans against them.
"We made six changes. The players that came in were ready. It's a young, inexperienced squad, but they did a great job.
"The last pass was not always perfect but keeping a clean sheet was great. We defended well against a Premier League side."