Johannes Hoff Thorup speaks of his ‘surprise’ as he reveals why he was sacked by Norwich City towards the end of the 2025/26 season.
“I think I will always be the wrong person to ask that question, because I think that’s down to the players,” he told the Second Tier Podcast.
“To be absolutely honest, we were about to make again some big changes in the summer window.
“The ones that we got in, especially a lot of the young ones, I think they fully believed in the way that we were playing. But it’s also fair to say that some of the players who had been at the club for many years and have played different styles of play were still adapting.
“They were probably not finding it suitable for their qualities, which is more than fair. Then you just have to be very honest with each other. To be fair to them, they were trying. So it’s not like they just gave up, but I think it’s fair that some were really buying into the ideas that we had, and some were probably struggling a little bit.
“When you find yourself in that position where you cannot really compete for the play-offs and you cannot really be relegated with five games left of the season, do you finish 10th, 11th, 12th or 13th in the table? What does it actually mean? Then the ones who can see that their futures may be somewhere else after the season, they drop a little bit in performance level.”
Although Thorup has stated in previous interviews that he could feel the sacking coming as communication decreased with sporting director Ben Knapper, he remained shocked to be fired so early in a planned long-term project.
“I was still surprised, because where we were as a team was probably what I expected,” he continued. “I know there’s been a lot of talk about whether we fought for promotion or not and I will not go too much into that discussion, but I know that to build something that can be successful over a longer period, you need to have some moments where you’re low and creating something.
“Then you make sure that you start performing on a high level. That could have been the case with a pre-season and the start of the season, but football is as it is. There’s also emotion and opinions from fans and stuff like that. In a big club like Norwich, I think the voice of the fans is also a big thing.”
As far as the explanation that Knapper gave the 36-year-old when sacking him the morning after a 3-1 Easter Monday defeat to Millwall, that short term struggle was the focus according to his former charge, who said: “I think it was the recent form: the last five, six, seven games we’d played.
“Obviously the performance was not top, and we were far away from what I expected. So it’s not like I cannot understand it, but there are different ways of working together in a moment like that.
“Some clubs take the decision to find a new coach and that’s more than fair. It’s always up to the owners and the board and the directors. Some clubs take the decision to stick together and make sure that you survive that tough period, and then on the other side of that you can start to succeed again.
“There are many approaches to that, but the clear answer was the form in the fix, six, seven games leading up to that.”
Among the factors behind his decision were contractual elements and the tight turnaround from his Norwich departure.
“It’s fair to say that there were conversations,” admitted the former Nordsjaelland boss. “The guys that I spoke to at QPR were really open-minded and have a lot of good ideas. The way they are structuring the club both for now and the future is kind of the same way that I think a club should go.
“Eventually we couldn’t agree on a couple of things. The contract was a part of it, and that’s probably what I can say. It was also important for me not just to jump into the first job straight after Norwich.
“It was quite fast – I think we had the first meeting eight or 10 days after I was sacked by Norwich.”
The former Canaries boss told the Second Tier podcast: “I could feel that there was a little bit less communication about the upcoming transfer window, and you know, as a coach, when that communication is less and less, then it could be a sign that changes are about to be made.
“I was still surprised because I think where we were as a team was probably what I expected.
“But football is as it is, and there’s also emotions and opinions from fans and stuff like that, and I think in a big club like Norwich, I think that the voice of the fans is also a big thing.
On the reasoning for being dismissed, Thorup added: “I think it was the recent form. I think it was looking at the recent of the last five, six, seven games that we’ve played, where obviously the performance was not top.
“I always have to be honest and say we are far away from what I expected in terms of our level so it’s not like I cannot understand it, it’s just there’s there’s different ways of of working together in a moment like that and and of course some clubs they take the decision to to find a new coach and that’s more than fair,
“It’s always up to the owners and the board and the directors, and then some clubs they take the decision to stick together and make sure that you survive that tough period, and then on the back side of that, you can start succeed again.
“So, there’s many ways and there’s many approaches to that, but to give you a clear answer, I think it was the four, five, six, seven games leading up to that.”
