I think the one thing that happens now is media and certain aspects write what they think is what fans want to hear, rather than what their own opinion is, because I think people want retweets and likes and all the rest of it.

These were among the comments from Alex Neil last week as the Norwich City manager took a side-swipe at what he felt was a negative stance being taken by the local press towards the club's fortunes.

And while I'm not always a massive fan of such dirty linen being washed in public, this seemed the perfect opportunity to respond to such claims.

Of course, I've no idea whether the Scotsman's words were aimed at one or two people in particular or the press in general, but it was clear from the response which followed, people took it to be the latter.

And while I cannot comment on the county's other media outlets, I want to make it clear that as far as Norwich City is concerned this newspaper has no such agenda to push.

And if we did it wouldn't be in our best interests.

Football sells newspapers and gathers website clicks. However, there's a common misconception that negative, critical stories do this more effectively than the rest.

The opposite is actually true.

When Norwich City does well, it has a positive impact on our success. People want to read about the club's achievements and they flock to us to do so.

When things are going badly, there's less of a desire to rush out and buy Monday's Pink Un and read all about it.

This means that if we are being negative, it's with a heavy heart.

The other reason a hidden negative agenda is unlikely is because every sports journalist worth their salt wants the club they report on to be a success – even if it isn't the team they support.

Don't forget that when a team gets promoted, so too does the person who covers them, going to bigger grounds and report-ing on bigger names and players.

None of this means they put the blinkers on when times are tough.

Our sports reporters are given the freedom to provide an independent, balanced and, where need be, constructively critical eye on what happens at Carrow Road.

Some-times that will necessitate being negative, other times positive – but always fair.

And fair is what I'd like to think they are.

If you have any news, views or feed-back then please do drop me a line at david.powles@archant.co.uk