Kenny McLean: Norwich City must stop 'gifting' goals to opposition teams
- Published
Kenny McLean has played 176 league games for Norwich since joining them in January 2018
Norwich City midfielder Kenny McLean says head coach David Wagner should not be blamed for the team "gifting" goals to the opposition.
The Canaries lost 3-1 to Blackburn on Sunday, their third successive home defeat in the Championship.
They have taken just one point from their past six matches, which has left them 17th in the table.
Asked whether the players were letting Wagner down, McLean replied: "100% - there's no doubt about that."
Wagner, who led Huddersfield Town to promotion from the second tier in 2017, has been in charge of Norwich since January but is coming under increasing pressure because of their poor results.
However, Scotland international McLean, 31, told BBC Radio Norfolk: "There's no one just washing their hands and saying 'it's not me, it's the manager', not a chance, it won't happen.
"We need to get together this week and try and put things right. But nobody wants to hear me say we'll try and put things right, it's pointless, it's words, it's nothing, it's what we do out there and right now, it's not enough.
"I've been here a long time now, I can't remember feeling so disappointed and frustrated about what's going on, how I'm doing, how the team's doing, everything. We need to do more. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves."
'State of inertia'
Norwich took 10 points from their opening four games of the season, but their form took a downturn in September despite two home victories over Stoke and Birmingham.
And the Canaries Trust supporters' group claims there is a "state of inertia" at the club, while they wait for the arrival of new sporting director Ben Knapper on 27 November and the increased shareholding of American Mark Attanasio to be ratified.
"From an outside perspective there's no overall sense of leadership, or direction, and supporters are desperate for some sense of a vision that we can all buy into and move forward together," said a Trust statement., external
"Apathy is widespread and some are questioning whether they want to continue attending games despite having done so for decades in some cases.
"Something has to change, but the supporters can't bring that change about: it must come from within the club and we trust that the current silence will be broken before the situation deteriorates further."
Norwich were 2-0 down in 15 minutes against Blackburn and only found the net themselves in stoppage time at the end of the game, despite Rovers having 10 men on the pitch following Scott Wharton's 54th-minute red card.
"The reaction (of the fans) tells a story and we're responsible for that," said McLean. "People are showing their frustrations and rightly so because it's not acceptable.
"We've been working hard behind the scenes, trust me. It's not a case that we're not committed enough or not demanding enough from each other, we are but we're just gifting teams so much right now, so many chances, so many goals, and we're really deflated by it and don't react well to adversity."
He added: "The manager can't carry (responsibility for) all that. We work on a shape throughout the week, work on how we play, and then when something goes wrong we just don't react to it well enough.
"We need to get together as a team, be hard to break down, but we continue to be so open at times. We're trying to press and go after teams, especially here at home, but we're being exposed at times and that's not down to the manager, that's down to us on the pitch."
Wagner admitted last month that the situation was "difficult" but following the Blackburn game, he said he was not the right person to answer questions about his future.
He said: "I've felt support so far from everyone who has responsibility at this football club.
"I love this football club, I love this dressing room as well, the city, the community, this is the truth, but the results are at the moment not good enough."