patrick vieira manager
How is Patrick after his positive Covid test?
Yes, he’s very well, thank you. He’s recovered well, this week. So fingers crossed, you know, we’ll wait and see what happens. But hopefully, he’ll be with us very soon.
So you’re not expecting to see him involved on the matchday tomorrow?
Unsure at the moment. On a day to day basis, we’re being tested so we’ll wait and see what tomorrow brings us.
But there is a chance he could be in the dugout for tomorrow’s game?
It’s a possibility. From our viewpoint, we want him here, [we’ve] desperately been hoping that he’ll be back at the helm. We’re just waiting to see what today, tonight and tomorrow will bring us in terms of news.
How much involvement hand contact has there been?
The communication strategy has worked really well. We’ve been in regular contact with Patrick making sure we follow his instructions as best we can on a daily basis. We’re fortunate to have a good group of staff who have collectively taken on more responsibility to ensure we help each other through this situation. Overall it’s been done in a fairly smooth way and is well operated. So now we’re looking forward to the game tomorrow.
Has Patrick been on FaceTime in the dressing room to the boys before training? Is that sort of the technology you’ve been using?
Yeah, of course, different platforms that you use. There’s many of them. But yeah, we’ve been using all those platforms to make sure that virtually it’s the same as if he was in the room. So everything’s worked well.
Are there any other Covid cases at the moment? How are you coping?
We’re trying to play all our games, of course. In terms of [Covid], it’s on a day to day basis. So, again, today, we’ve gone through that process, our results will come in later. So again for tomorrow, we’ll either know late this evening or tomorrow morning where we stand and we’ll take it from there.
How much will your last game against West Ham be a factor in terms of the performance or is the team is very different to that early meeting in the season?
I think they’re two very good teams. In my opinion, I think West Ham United have been on a great run, they’re one of the best teams in the league and are very difficult to play against. They have all the attributes you need to be successful in the league. Of course, they’ve got one of the most experienced managers, great staff working with David Moyes as well. So we have total respect for them as a team, as a club and we know it’s going to be a difficult encounter for us. But, you know, we’re in a decent run of form ourselves, especially at home. And I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere tomorrow.
How important is it to make sure that home form continues into 2022 as well?
Winning games, we want that to be a habit, whether that’s at home or away from home. I mean, we performed very well away from home against West Ham but of course, our home form to date has been very good and we want to keep that going as long as we possibly can. And of course, our supporters, you know, have played an incredible, important role in making sure that we are successful at home. So we’re confident going into the game, but we’re fully aware of the threats that West Ham bring. And we’re fully aware that it’s going to be a really, really tough game for us tomorrow.
Will Hughes said Crystal Palace have such a good squad that the places left by players leaving for AFCON can be filled, do you agree?
Yeah, that’s why you have a squad of players. When every player has been carefully recruited by the club, and by the manager to make sure that we knew, of course, that this situation was going to arise at this time of the season anyway. They’re three important players for us that we’re going to miss over the next few weeks, but of course, at the same time, being fully aware of that we feel we’ve got players that can step in and take their opportunity like Jean-Philippe Mateta a couple of days ago. It’s important that players – when they get the opportunity – step up because they work hard during the week, they train hard, everybody’s working well. And it’s important when the opportunity comes that they take that with both hands.
How much have you enjoyed this experience of being on the touchline for Crystal Palace?
Well, as I’ve said before, I’d much rather that I was sat behind Patrick, supporting him. But of course, you know, I had a job to do like everybody else. And the important thing is that you do that to the best of your ability and try and make sure that we get through this short period as unscathed as we possibly can and make sure that we pick up as many points, and that the players feel that everything is the same. So alongside the staff that had worked hard to make that happen, we’re hoping that when the manager comes back, he’s relatively pleased with where we are and how things have been. But of course, everything has been done to follow the instructions given by Patrick to make sure that we try and keep on the same road and on the same path and in a seamless manner.
How pleasing was it to get a win against Norwich without Patrick and several members of the squad?
It was a very good performance from us, I thought. We started well and got that early goal. And it was important for us that we built upon that because that’s something that isn’t always the case, and it doesn’t come automatically you have to earn it. And the boys did that extremely well. In the first half, we were a real threat from an attacking point of view and controlled the game to an extent, both with the ball and without the ball. But of course, it was really important for us in the second half to manage the game and at the same time make sure that we keep a clean sheet that we defend resolutely because Norwich had their fair share of our chances or opportunities and possession and were a threat. So we had to manage those situations. So overall, in terms of an overall performance, we were really, really pleased, especially in the context of all the challenges that we face at this point in time. We want to make sure now that we build on that, because we know that it’s really important for us to keep picking up points and keep moving in an upward trajectory. We’re looking forward to tomorrow against one of the top teams in the league, and it will be a good benchmark for us again.
Any further injury news?
In terms of that availability for tomorrow, I think we’re in a fairly good place. Who knows what today brings in terms of the PCR process. So we’ll take that as we do every day of the week and adapt accordingly. But other than that, no, we’re we’re in a good place and there’s competition for places. One or two players stepping in, making a case for staying at the team. And, of course we embrace that, that’s what we expect. It’ll be interesting. Patrick will select the starting lineup tomorrow and leave that as late as possible. And no doubt it’ll be a team that is going to be competitive. But at the same time, you know, there will be players that are ready to come off the bench and make an impact when they get that opportunity.
Have you spoken to Patrick Vieira about bringing players in?
Of course, we’re missing the three players that will go to Africa and for however long, we’re not sure. But in terms of recruitment during this window, you know, that hopefully will be a question you can ask very, very soon to Patrick himself, who is in constant dialogue with a board of course.
You couldn’t give much in terms of clarity on Conor Gallagher after the Norwich game. Can you say any more now?
Yeah, it’s still one where we’re unsure of and we’re taking on a day today. The rest of the group, we’ll see what today brings. We’ve gone through the process as we do every day and hopefully, we’ll have clarity later on this evening or first thing tomorrow morning. And that’s why team selection always at the moment is got to be left till the very last minute.
James McArthur and Joachim Andersen updates?
Joachim is fine and unavailable. Of course, you know, a lot of games in close proximity is one of the issues for all clubs, in terms of players being able to recover quickly, in particular, if they’ve been out of contention and not played for a few weeks. So we have to be extremely careful in terms of that. And then, you know, in terms of James McArthur, [he] will not be in contention for this week. And probably next week might be a little bit early as well, we’ll see how things go at the beginning of the week with him.
Are the AFCON players all determined to end on a good note tomorrow?
Yeah, exactly. We wish them all well, in the AFCON. It’s a really important tournament. I came here to Palace from the African continent having been technical director of the Moroccan Football Federation for a couple of years. So I know the great work that’s going on on the African continent to aspire to be at the highest level possible. So we wish all up all our players the very best out in Cameroon in the competition. Obviously, we want them back as soon as possible, albeit that, you know, if they’re successful that will take a little bit longer. So we’ll see how that goes. But it’s an incredible tournament that we’ll be watching closely. But of course, we’ll be wanting the three back and back in in the squad as soon as soon as possible for us.
