
Norwich City: Johannes Hoff Thorup on Onel Hernandez saga.
Johannes Hoff Thorup hopes that Norwich City fans treat Onel Hernandez no differently after he was left out of two games for his social media activity.
The Cuban was dropped from the matchday squad for the recent 0-0 draw with Sunderland, missing the subsequent defeat to Burnley after missing training as a result.
He could return for this afternoon’s meeting with Portsmouth at Carrow Road, where he’ll reunite with home supporters for the first time since that dropping. Head coach Thorup hopes that the Cuban’s relationship with them isn’t tarnished, his charge having been a fan favourite for several years.
“I hope they will do what they always do,” he said. “What is also important as a fan is that you should take your own decision, you should have your own opinion.
“I could just mention one player, and probably there would be different opinions about that player. That’s how it is, that’s more than fair. As a fan there will always be players you like more than others. So I think they should continue with the same support that they always do.
“What will always be a part of our culture here is that there’s a clear consequence when you step over that line that we have made. But we also take players back after that consequence. That’s a big, big part of it.
“So I hope there will be a good reaction from the fans.”
Although Thorup is keen not to dismiss the positive aspects of social media use, he believes that it was important to set clear boundaries for Hernandez.
Sporting director Ben Knapper sat down with Hernandez to discuss his social media use
Sporting director Ben Knapper sat down with Hernandez to discuss his social media use (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
“There was a good discussion mostly between him and Ben (Knapper, sporting director), and they had a good meeting about the situation,” he continued of the 32-year-old. “They clarified what we can expect as a club, also what he can expect, what is good behaviour, what is not good behaviour.
“We are also here to support him, and I don’t want to be the one who tells players to completely stay off social media. There are many good things, and opening up an environment that has normally been very, very closed is good in many ways.
“But as a player you need to protect yourself a little bit, because there are people out there who are very good at taking small things out of context and making them big things.”
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