There are countless examples of head coaches spending years carefully building reputations, only for one failure to redefine perceptions of them. Paul Warne accumulated more than 150 Championship games and built a reputation around his work at Rotherham and Derby, yet eventually found himself managing in League Two.

Liam Manning arrived at Norwich City as an upwardly mobile coach whose career trajectory appeared to be heading in one direction. By the time he departed, his stock had fallen significantly. Russell Martin is another. His reputation rose through Swansea and Southampton, but a difficult Premier League campaign, relegation and a tough spell at Rangers eventually led him back to League One.

That is football management. Stock rarely rises indefinitely. The game is simply too cyclical for that. Every head coach riding the crest of a wave will eventually encounter a period when results turn, confidence drains and previously celebrated decisions become causes for criticism.

It speaks to a line Paul Lambert used regularly during those heady Norwich City days when winning became almost routine. Even then, amid successive promotions and a remarkable rise, there was an acceptance that a head coach or manager was only ever ‘three games from the sack’.

That feels increasingly reflective of a footballing culture that has become so coach-led. Changing the person at the front of the technical area is often the quickest lever a club can pull, whether in pursuit of a short-term uplift or as a sticking plaster for wider structural issues that extend far beyond the dug-out.

Philippe Clement has just come off a period that many coaches would be fortunate to survive. Prior to last weekend’s victory at Charlton, Norwich had lost eight games in 11, including five in succession. Those numbers are often bad news for the person at the front of the dug-out.

Yet, across all three matches, including at The Valley, City supporters sang his name, not as an ironic gesture or amid calls for change, but in support of the man in the dug-out. It was refreshing. Perhaps, too, it offered recognition of a wider point. Norwich need to stick by Clement through the storm.

Look at City’s wider picture. Clement is the fifth head coach since relegation from the Premier League. Whenever progress has stalled or results have deteriorated, Norwich have eventually reached for the reset button.

At some stage, the frequency of managerial change becomes part of the evidence rather than the solution.

There have been missteps from Clement at the start of this Championship season. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

That doesn't mean Clement should be protected regardless of results. Football doesn't work like that. But another change would need to be based on something more substantial than the belief that replacing the head coach automatically makes Norwich better. Recent history suggests the opposite precisely - changing the man has not changed the trajectory.

Continually starting again has a cost. New ideas must be implemented, relationships rebuilt and players reassessed. Before long, another coach is working with footballers recruited under several different regimes while attempting to establish another version of what City are supposed to look like. In a sense, that is already where they find themselves.

Eventually, a club has to pick a direction and have the courage to absorb some turbulence along the way. They didn’t with Johannes Hoff Thorup. History has shown that to be a massive error.

Clement inherited a group coming out of a disastrous pre-season, rather than creating those circumstances himself, with fitness levels below where they needed to be and plenty of work required to restore the physical standards demanded by Championship football.

The complaints echo those that emerged during Daniel Farke’s difficult opening months in 2017. His methods were demanding, his expectations different, and not every player embraced them. City did not respond by abandoning the project. Stuart Webber backed the head coach, moved on players who didn't suit the direction of travel, and recruited those who did.

City got their just desserts for sticking with Daniel Farke back in 2017. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

That backing was ultimately rewarded. The comparison is not about predicting that Clement will repeat Farke’s achievements. It is about the principle. If a club appoints a coach because it believes in his methods, it cannot be startled when implementing those methods proves uncomfortable or unpopular to some.

That becomes especially important given their recent history. In almost every instance of managerial change, City have either trodden water or regressed. Clement is the only head coach of the Ben Knapper era who has consistently demonstrated that he has a winning formula.

Norwich shouldn’t stick with Clement because stability is inherently virtuous. Nor should previous managerial failures give him some sort of immunity. He has made mistakes this season. He was too slow to address some of their structural deficiencies, while the level of rotation made it difficult for partnerships and continuity to develop.

But recent performances have offered signs that those issues are being addressed rather than ignored. That distinction matters. A head coach failing to find solutions is one thing but one enduring difficulties while beginning to solve them is another.

Then there is Clement himself. This is a head coach who has managed nearly 70 matches in European competition, won silverware and operated in environments where the pressure and expectation were significant. For a Championship club in Norwich’s current position, replacing him with somebody possessing a demonstrably stronger CV would be considerably easier said than done.

Ben Knapper and Norwich City need to be prepared to ride through the storm with Clement. (Image: Sonya Duncan/Newsquest)

Given what has happened every time City have reached for change since relegation, there is very little evidence that another spin of the managerial roulette wheel would solve their problems, in fact, there is more evidence it would lead to more problems - not least for those running the sporting operation.

The win at Charlton was respite. Now the upcoming games offer a chance to build. Sometimes sticking is every bit as brave as twisting.

As Clement hits his City half-century, they should invest, no matter how dark the storm gets in the coming months.