patrick vieira manager
A lack of quality in the final third?
I don’t know. You can put it down to our decision making. Trying to find our teammates in a better position. We were unlucky at times as well. But I think we created enough situations and chances to score but we didn’t today.
Is that ruthless edge the difference between mid-table and pushing the team higher?
No. I think it’s about taking our chances. We have the quality. We know the front three can score goals but I want them to score more regarding the number of chances we were creating. Today, I think we were unlucky. The only thing missing in our game was that goal.
Zaha was involved in a few scrapes. How do you think he handled it?
I wasn’t worried at all. He’s used to it. It won’t be the first time and it won’t be the last time. I think he showed a lot of maturity and tried to concentrate on the game and play.
What did you say to the referee on the Zaha/Raphinha incident?
The referee was in a position where he didn’t make a decision. The fourth referee made the decision and this is what they are for, to try and help the referee make the decision. He thought it was a foul and I thought it wasn’t a foul. It was nothing big.
Is it a compliment to the way you play football that Leeds tried to stop you physically?
This is the way they play. When you look at their front four they play with intensity and try to close down. I was really happy today because we moved the ball quick enough to create those kinds of overloads on the sides and we had a couple of good crosses. Our tempo of passing was good today.
Thoughts on Illan Meslier?
I think he’s still a young player, a French Under-21 with a lot of potential. He’s playing in a team in the Premier League that will allow him to grow as a player and now it is up to him to what he will do every day to reach his potential.
Was Tyrick Mitchell injured?
He was injured.
Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne were both excellent – what did you make of their performance?
I think our whole back four were really good with and without the ball. They won a lot of duels, they played forward. Wardy on the left side gave really good support to our forward players and it was the same with Clyne on the other side. I was really pleased with their performances.
You were talking to Dougie Freedman and John Textor after the game, did they enjoy it?
Yes, I think they enjoyed the game. You always have frustrations in these games as you want to win, especially with the way we played tonight. They always say if you can’t win it, don’t lose the game. We were missing a little edge in the last third, giving the ball at the right time and the finishing but we need to keep improving.
The start against Newcastle wasn’t great, happier with tonight’s start?
I feel really good about it. I was really happy. I wanted to get an answer and I got one from the players. I know that they’re capable of doing it because we had some really good performances at home and away. We had a little lack of consistency in those performances and we want to start games the way we did it today. I praised them after the game because this is the attitude I want. The process I want to put in place is regardless of the result, it’s important that we put ourselves in a good position [at the start] to win games and I think we did that well today.
Do you feel safe from relegation?
We can’t control the results of other teams. What is important is ourselves and our performances. I never talked about relegation or Europe, we always talk about the process of winning football matches. When we play like we did today, we will have more chances of winning.
