Norwich were relegated from the Premier League after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa as results conspired against the Canaries with Burnley winning 2-1 at Watford on Saturday
Dean Smith's team needed to avoid defeat against his former side or rely on Burnley not winning at Vicarage Road - but the permutation played out in the final 10 minutes as Burnley overcame a one-goal deficit to take all three points
At Villa Park, substitute Danny Ings had only been on the pitch for a few seconds after replacing the injured Leon Bailey late in the first half when he fired a delightful long pass for Ollie Watkins to latch onto and fire Villa into the lead (41)
Norwich pushed for a lifeline in the closing minutes but the hosts punished the Canaries in stoppage time as Ings collected a loose ball near the penalty spot, turned and doubled Villa's lead (90+3)
Villa dominated the opening 20 minutes but failed to find a breakthrough as Steven Gerrard pondered his next move on the sidelines after Bailey rattled the woodwork with an effort from range
Norwich then had a good spell, but Ings' introduction swung the game back Villa's way as his exquisite long ball provided the breakthrough moment - with Watkins capitalising on Brandon Williams' slip to break the deadlock
Villa burst from the blocks after the interval, with Philippe Coutinho finding Ings, who drove forward and went for a one-two with Watkins, who duly delivered - but the former Southampton man fired into a defender
Ings then met a Lucas Digne corner, back sooner than expected from injury, with power and accuracy, only for Tim Krul to watch the effort bounce off his right-hand post
But the striker did find the net in added time with an opportunity initially created by former Norwich player Emi Buendia as City fell to a record sixth relegation from the Premier League
The result, coupled with the Clarets' comeback at Watford, left Norwich 13 points adrift of safety with four games left to play
"I'm disappointed because it wasn't a performance we should have got relegated on
 I thought it was a good performance
 We quietened the crowd
"They probably scored against the run of play - a ball over the top and a slip: Brandon slips and Ollie scores
 Unfortunately, that's cost us in an awful lot of games this season - little individual mistakes
"I felt we should have had a penalty just after that and didn't get one, but I don't suppose I'll get a phone call from Mike Riley
"The Premier League is tough
 I was at Aston Villa a couple of years ago and we got promoted and we spent £125m to try and stay in the league
 The key to it, for me, is when you play against the teams in and around you, that you feel you are going to be competing with
"In the big games, against [teams like] Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea, you try and scrap to get something out of those games where you can
 We all know there is a gulf in quality between the top three and the rest of the league
 Ultimately, we've come up short
"We've got a great base to go with, good foundations
 It's a well-run football club
 The last two times we've been in the Championship, we've won it
 That's what we have to aspire to again now
 ""I wouldn't say [it was a 'total' team performance]
 We're very happy with the three points and, obviously, the win and clean sheet but I've seen us play better
"I thought we were patchy today, we started the first 20 minutes on the front foot, we were progressive and created chances
 Credit to Norwich, they got some fantastic blocks in and a few good saves
"I also thought we started the second half in the same vein, but when that second goal doesn't come, you'll have some nerves set in then, some edgy moments, and that's what I've seen today so I think we can play a lot better
"We knew coming into this job it wouldn't always be rosy
 We would have some tough times and some bumps along the way
 There's a lot to work on, but that's exciting as well
 We move on to next week against Burnley in a better place, with more confidence
 Four points out of six from two tough games
"I want to give players opportunities
 You train every day with these boys and if someone is outshining they certainly deserve to play
 The fans need to see them
 We want to prove there's a pathway for our academy players
"Tim (Iroegbunam) has deserved his couple of opportunities, we think the world of him
 There's still a lot of development and evolving to come but you can see his profile, how aggressive he is
 Out of possession he's really good, he helped the team a lot today and he'll grow and take confidence from that performance
"Norwich showed there is a lot of fight
 They made it really difficult for us, they fought to the end
 They have a good manager, he left a lot of good work behind here
"So we wish them well
 But today was about us, as soon as that whistle went sentiment and emotion was out the window
 The three points needed to be just as important for us as it was for them
"Aston Villa travel to Burnley as they face off next weekend in the Premier League
 Steven Gerrard's side then have three consecutive home games against Liverpool, which is live on , Crystal Palace and Burnley before going to Manchester City on the final day of the season
Norwich will host West ham in the Premier League next weekend
 The Canaries then have trips to Wolves and Leicester before their final match of the campaign at home to Tottenham
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