Norwich City sack head coach Dean Smith following Boxing Day defeat at Luton Town

Dean Smith during what turned out to be in his final game in charge against Luton Town.
Dean Smith during what turned out to be in his final game in charge against Luton Town. Credit: PA

Norwich City have sacked head coach Dean Smith following their 2-1 defeat to Luton Town on Boxing Day.

The loss at Kenilworth Road leaves the Canaries 12 points adrift of the automatic promotion places in the Championship after a run of just three wins in their last 13 games.

Just as it was at Carrow Road for their recent 2-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, the atmosphere in the away end at Luton once again turned toxic, with a large section of supporters calling for Smith to go.

Those fans have now got their wish, with both Smith and assistant Craig Shakespeare, as well as first team coach Liam Bramley, shown the door on Tuesday.

The club’s remaining coaching staff, led by Steve Weaver and Allan Russell, will take charge of Norwich's upcoming fixtures - starting with Friday's clash against Reading at Carrow Road.

Cauley Woodrow's late winner for Luton Town proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Smith. Credit: PA

Smith, 51, replaced Daniel Farke as head coach in November 2021, just a matter of days after he was himself dismissed by boyhood club Aston Villa, but was unable to keep the club in the Premier League as the Canaries finished bottom with just 22 points.

Many bookmakers had Norwich down as favourites to bounce straight back this season, but despite a run of six successive wins in August and September, Smith's team have failed to live up to those expectations.

In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber said that the decision to sack Smith was made to try and revive their faltering promotion ambitions.

Norwich are currently fifth, but crucially, are closer to the bottom three than the top two.

“This was a tough decision, but one that we felt was necessary to give ourselves the best possible chance of achieving our objective of promotion to the Premier League this season," Webber said.

“We would like to place on record our thanks to Dean, Craig and Liam, who have always put the best interests of the football club first.

“With just under half of the season remaining and three consecutive home games on the horizon we now have a real opportunity to build some forward and positive momentum, both on and off the pitch.”

In total, Smith was in charge of the club for 13 months, winning 16 of his 56 matches.

His relationship with fans had become increasingly strained in recent times, particularly in the aftermath of the Blackburn game when he said he was glad that the Boxing Day fixture at Luton was away from home.

Attention will now turn to who will replace him at Carrow Road, with ex-Bournemouth manager, and former Canaries loanee, Scott Parker, currently the 4/1 favourite to take over.

Russell Martin and Mark Robins are two other ex-Norwich players who are fancied by the bookmakers to be in contention, as are Chris Wilder and Sean Dyche.

  • Analysis by ITV News Anglia's Andy Ward

Smith had fallen out with some of the club's fans in recent times. Credit: PA

For some time now, it's felt like a case of when, not if, Dean Smith would be sacked by Norwich City.

In truth, it's looked like an unhappy marriage almost from the start. The fans have never really taken to him, and he's not appeared to be particularly fond of them either.

Things really came to a head recently when he accused some supporters of "waiting" for the team to fail after things turned toxic during another abject defeat to Blackburn at Carrow Road.

From that point on, the writing was on the wall, and a loss at 10-man Luton on Boxing Day proved to be the final straw.

Perhaps Smith's biggest problem was that he followed Daniel Farke - a man who enjoyed an incredible relationship with Norwich fans having delivered the club two Championship promotions.

Smith never had that same connection. He hasn't become a bad manager overnight, and you wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to succeed elsewhere, but this never felt like the right fit.

As for Norwich, it will be fascinating to see who they go for next, and with money tight, it's going to be a tricky task.

However, what is clear is that they need to get the next appointment right - not just to breathe new life into their promotion dream, but perhaps even more crucially, also to get their loyal supporters back on side.

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