patrick vieira manager
Latest on Nathan Ferguson’s injury?
Nathan has had hamstring setback. He will be out for between five to six weeks. It’s a shame because he worked quite hard to get back on the field with the team. But we will give him the support that he needs for him to come back and enjoy himself on the field. It is a difficult period for him, but we will give him the love and the attention that he needs to get back on the field as soon as possible.
Was Wilfried Zaha’s celebration him showing you what he can do?
No. That was obviously a fantastic goal, a wonderful goal. This is Wilfried Zaha at his best, this is what we need. This is what we want from him. We know that he’s capable of delivering for the team and we want him to do it more often. He’s has the personality and the ability to do it and now we want him to do it more often with the support of the players around him.
Before you arrived, there was always talk about him moving on. But he seems so settled now. Can you see him potentially being a Crystal Palace to the end of his career?
He’s in a contract. So that means he is happy to wear the shirt and to perform well for the team. I think what what is good for him is to have players around him who take responsibility and that take some of the pressure off his shoulders. We have players who can score goals, we have players who can deliver. And the positiveness of that is we are having a team performance, and of course that allows him to express himself and and that’s good for him. And that’s good for the team.
Will there be any changes in the order of who takes penalties? Or was it just a one-off?
I think people always remember the the last penalty. But when you look at his record on penalties he’s been really good. So there’s no reason why we should change.
You’ve asked the team to be a bit more ruthless. Is that because you can see the ability and the attacking force you have?
Yes, the attacking force, but the way we play and when you’re looking at the situations that we are creating, I think in both areas on the offensive and defensive side, we have to be more ruthless, the way we are defending as well. Because that’s part of the game. That comes as well with experience and playing together and and when you’re looking at how we improved from the first game of the season – I think we are a better team. So we still have some parts of the game that need to improve to win football matches, we are conscious of that. My responsibility will be to put more emphasis on those details to allow us to win football matches. We have players who are capable of scoring goals and creating chances but that’s not enough. We need to have this killing instinct to score those goals.
How is Cheikhou Kouyate, still happy?
He still happy and he’s going to be happy for quite a while. What he achieved with Senegal is something that will stay forever because that was the first cup for the country. So he is in a good place.
Has he shown you his medal?
Not yet, no.
Looking forward to Brentford game on Saturday?
It will be a different challenge compared to the last game that we played, we know what to expect. We have to be up for it. They’re a really difficult team [to play] at home, they’re doing really well and we will be ready for that.
Thoughts on Christian Eriksen’s return?
This is a happy story to see him back on the field training and playing games. I think this is something that we can all enjoy because he loves the game and for him to be back on the field and to do what he loves is something that we can all be happy about.
You said Zaha should be scoring more, so are you saying you’re happy with everything other than his goalscoring?
No. I said he has to score more because of his ability to do so. He is a player who I believe, with his ability, can create more and score more. But he is not going to be doing it by himself. He needs the team around him to perform to create those chances or to put him in a situation where he can express his talent. So when I talk about him doing more, it’s not about him as an individual, it is about him using the quality of the players that he has around him as well, the way we play, the chances that we are creating to be more decisive, and he has the ability to do it. But the way we will perform as a team will allow him to do it more often.
What have you made of the job that Thomas Frank has done?
I think when teams come up from the championship and do well in the Premier League, of course, the manager is a massive part and has a massive responsibility for that. I think when you look at the team, the way they play, the way they are organised, the work from the manager – I think it’s massively important. They’ve been doing a fantastic job over there regarding the way they played in the Premier League and the way that the team are organised so all the credit to him.
Sometimes promoted teams start well but can then go on runs of bad results. Why do you think that is? Do teams figure them out?
No, you’re talking about experience as well. The Premier League is the most competitive league in the world and the season is really long. For teams who have a younger squad, or teams who come in from the Championship it is always about the experience, and how do you bounce back from a difficult period. That is part of having experienced players as well. When you’re looking at the history of the Premier League, or any teams that go through a difficult period, experienced players become really important. That’s not take away from what they’ve been doing and how well they’ve been playing since the beginning of the season.
Jean-Philippe Mateta has been starting the last couple of games, what is it about his performances that have kept him in the starting XI?
What is good for us is the physical impact, his mobility, the fact that he is running a lot behind to stretch the opposition team and at the moment he is playing with confidence and belief. This is one of the reason why he started in the last couple of games.
Palace have been getting a lot of plaudits for their football but are you frustrated you haven’t been able to turn those performances into wins?
Yes, that is the process that we need to go through and I think we have a really clear idea about how we want to play the game. We play at time some some good football, yes. But it’s not enough. We are not going to play well from the start to the end of the season. So when you play well, you need to take points and you need to win those games. This is something that we have to improve.
Does this game carry more weight for you because Brentford are close to Palace in the table?
Yes, but the weight is on their shoulders as well because we are still in front of them. So it is an important game for both teams. We want to win, we need to perform to allow ourselves to win the game. It is going to be challenging, it is going to be difficult because at home they’re really strong and they have good support. We will be we need to be at our best to perform well collectively to get the result that we want.
Are you concerned by the way you’ve started games?
Concerned? No. But this is again one of the areas that we need to work on to improve. We know how important it is in the Premier League to score the first goal and lately we always have to fight to get back to the game. I think we show a lot of character and desire to fight back but if we can start those first halves the same way that we start the second half it will give us even more chance of winning football matches. This is one of the areas that we put a lot of emphasis on.
How are the lack of wins in the Premier League affecting the mentality of this squad?
I think it’s different ways of analysing the game – the result and the performances. The performances give us hope to get the results that we want if we improve those details. In the other side, yes, we are convinced that we need to do more if we want to win football matches, but our performances at times have being really unlucky.
In terms of Christian Eriksen, how important is it for football that a player can show that you can come back from the situation he was in last summer and perform again at the highest level?
I think around Christian think there’s a lot of positiveness to take into the game. I think the support and the first aid that he had on the field is something that was really important. To see him back in football at the highest level is something really positive and to show that with the support. Seeing him back in football at this level is really good news for him, but for football as well
