Norwich City: David Wagner makes Delia Smith reveal after play-off surge | OneFootball

David Wagner has credited Delia Smith with playing a crucial role in turning around Norwich City’s season.

The manager was under pressure from supporters after a difficult first half of the campaign, with his job under threat if results didn’t improve.

But a strong second half of the term saw the Canaries earn a top six finish, giving them a chance at promotion back to the Premier League.

The Norfolk outfit will face Leeds United this weekend in the first leg of their play-off semi-final, where the winner over two games will face either Southampton or West Brom in a 90-minute shootout for top-flight football.

However, the team has won just two of their last seven league games going into their home game against the Whites on Sunday.

Wagner credits Delia Smith with Norwich turnaround

Wagner has credited Norwich co-owner Smith with helping to turn around the club’s fortunes this season.

He revealed that a phone call from the professional chef after a defeat to Blackburn Rovers assured him of his position at the club, giving him the confidence he needed to turn around the team’s results.

“Delia does not call me often, it was actually the first time,” said Wagner, via The Telegraph.

“It was one of the moments which gave me a super-boost.

“Delia told me that she totally believed in me and to keep going.

“She did it in exactly the right moment where I maybe needed a boost and support from the owner who makes the decisions.

“This was something that really helped me and I’m happy for her that it’s paid off for her too.”

A 3-1 defeat at home to Rovers in November saw Norwich make their worst start to a Championship campaign since 2008, a year in which they suffered relegation.

The loss left the Canaries 17th in the table, with just 17 points from the opening 15 games of the campaign.

Norwich City’s play-off run

The gap to the play-offs was eight points on November 6th, but Norwich were able to overcome that deficit to come sixth in the final standings.

Wagner’s side earned 56 points from their remaining 31 fixtures, the fifth-best record in the division during this period.

This was good enough for them to finish three points clear of seventh place Hull City, with a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City on the final day not mattering as the Tigers also lost to Plymouth Argyle.

Norwich face Leeds on 12 May in a 12pm kick-off at Carrow Road, with the second leg set for Elland Road on 16 May.

Sticking with Wagner proved the smart decision

Wagner was under a lot of pressure near the end of 2023, and it’s easy to envisage a scenario where he does lose his job due to their poor form.

However, the club decided to stick with him and that has proven the right call as they now have the chance to gain promotion.

Leeds will be the favourites going into their upcoming clashes, but Norwich have shown that they can compete with anyone in this division when they perform at their best.

The recent 1-0 win over rivals Ipswich Town is a prime example of what they can achieve when they rise to the occasion, and they will need that kind of performance again to get to the play-off final.