‘Clarity’: Absent Scotland star lands MOTM in return from injury but doubts swirl over long-term future..
Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn made a welcome return from injury as he helped Norwich City overcome West Brom in the Skybet Championship.
Gunn missed out on the Scotland squad earlier this month for the Nations Legaue A relegation play-off defeat by Greece after he picked up a hamstring injury while playing for Norwich when he jumped over an advertising hoarding during a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. It was the third time in a row that the stopper was unable to join up with Scotland squad, having missed the October and November camps due a rib issue.
His absence has allowed Hearts veteran Craig Gordon to re-establish himself as Scotland’s No 1 after Gunn took the gloves for last summer’s European Championships. With Scotland currently experienced a dearth of options in that position, national team manager Steve Clarke will be keen that Gunn maintains his fitness between now and the end of the season.
Gunn returned for the Canaries after a three-match spell on the sidelines and was named man of the match in what could turn out to be a crucial 1-0 win. The 29-year-old made seven saves against the Baggies, who are managed by former Hibs and Celtic boss Tony Mowbray, before Josh Sargent netted Norwich’s winner two minutes into stoppage time to grab the win.
Gunn’s two moments of note were when he made an excellent save to keep out Torbjorn Heggem’s close-range header and then from ex-Rangers defender Kyle Bartley in the final seconds.
The victory means that Johannes Hoff Thorup’s men are just five points behind West Brom, who occupy the last remaining spot in the play-offs.
“Even before the match the lads were confident we were still in with a chance [of the play-offs],” Thorup said. “We needed to win this one and now we have we can look forward to a final push. Obviously we need to go on a run and win more games than we have been doing recently but this is a good start.
“We have been on the wrong end of the result in quite a few 50/50 games this season so it was good to be on the right side this time – we all needed this result and I am delighted for the lads. We got the goal in the end – and it was good to get a clean sheet too.
“It’s no secret we have been a bit too open recently, and have conceded too many goals, so we changed things a bit to give the lads at the back a bit more protection. It worked well, although it does make other aspects of the game a bit more difficult. We certainly weren’t on the front foot as much as we normally are.”
Angus Gunn’s long-term future doubts at Norwich
Gunn’s long-term future at Norwich remains up in the air, however. The former Manchester City and Southampton goalkeeper’s contract expires in East Anglia at the end of the season, yet there has been no progress made on a new deal. George Long is the other first-team option at Thorup’s disposal.
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