The Dane had overseen meetings with Northampton Town, Club Brugge and Standard Liege since being appointed in May, but all of them on the road. Friday night's clash with 1. FC Magdeburg marked his first Canaries outing in the home dugout, as he took charge of a 1-0 defeat to the German side.
The result didn't taint his view of the stadium, however, instead whetting his appetite for competitive action there. "I actually just spoke to one of Magdeburg's Danish players," Thorup revealed. "He said what a fantastic stadium this was, and I said the same.
"It's a beautiful place, a great atmosphere, fantastic for football games. I'm so excited for the first Championship game here. "First time playing a game in here, it's a fantastic place.
We're really looking forward to it." The 35-year-old had no significant concerns over the defeat despite it coming just over two weeks away from the start of the 2024-25 campaign, saying Magdeburg's idiosyncracies played a big part. "A little bit of an unusual one, because we had to face a team that's very man-orientated in their pressing," he continued.
"That caused us a little bit of trouble, but opened up some good opportunities. "Maybe one or two out of ten games will be like that. But it was good for us, because I think when we put in the intensity that was needed we get the reward.
"When we were a little bit too passive and a little bit too slow, we could also see that we conceded chances. "I'm very satisfied with the first 20, 25 minutes. That was the first time this pre-season that we saw the intensity needed.
Some good off-the-ball movement, some good pressing situations, good chances created. "After we conceded the goal, we struggled to get back to the rhythm.".
