Squad 'nowhere near good enough' - Roberts

Former Norwich City striker Iwan Roberts said fans must be realistic about who the Championship club may be able to appoint as their new head coach.

The Canaries have begun the search for a replacement for Liam Manning, who was sacked in the wake of Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Leicester City.

"There's been a lot of names mentioned - Brendan Rodgers, Gary O'Neil, Michael Carrick [among them] - I can't see any of those three entertaining it," Roberts told BBC Radio Norfolk's Canary Call.

"Gary O'Neil turned down the Wolves job, they're bottom of the Premier League, but it's a far more attractive job than Norwich. Managers like Gary O'Neil and Michael Carrick especially, their next job, they have to get it right.

"They've got to go into a club where the infrastructure and the squad is there to help them be successful and get them back towards where they want to be. I don't think Norwich is that place at the minute - you look at the squad, I don't think it's anywhere near enough."

Former Rangers, Southampton and Swansea City boss Russell Martin, a former Norwich player, has also been mentioned as a potential candidate.

On Martin's time at Swansea, Wales international Roberts said: "When they were good, they were great, but on too many occasions, they conceded sloppy goals - Harry Darling was part of that back four - which had the fourth or fifth worst defensive record in the Championship.

"I think Russ will definitely get another job, whether it will be the Norwich one, I don't know."

The search for a new boss is being led by Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper, who has also come in for criticism from fans, having brought in Manning and his predecessor Johannes Hoff Thorup after parting company with David Wagner in 2024.

"In his time at the football club, he's got far more wrong than he has right," said Roberts. "He's had two big decisions go wrong, and his recruitment has been extremely poor."

Norwich are next to bottom of the Championship and have yet to manage a single point in home league games this season.

Roberts added: "They are in a proper scrap and to get out of that, you need battlers, you need competitors, you need players who are willing to roll their sleeves up and give everything for the cause.

"Hopefully, there's enough in the dressing room at Carrow Road to do that. I'm not sure in all honesty."