patrick vieira manager
Congratulations on the first point. Is this all mixed emotions after that? You had a couple of chances to get all three, but obviously off the mark.
Yeah, it’s really a mixed feeling. Because in one way, I was quite pleased with the team performance. And on the other side is a little bit of frustration because we didn’t score that goal. But overall, I think we can build up something from that performance.
Do you feel like in time that the possession that you had will translate into more clear cut chances?
Yeah, and this is one of the sides of the game that we need to improve is to have more players inside the box. I think at times Christian [Benteke] was isolated. I think if we had players around him it would be a bit easier for him. But that is one of the sides of the game that we need to work on. But when we look at the way that we approached the game, the way that we played with intensity, we tried to get out from the pressure and tried to play the second ball. I think the team’s performance was positive.
What did you make of the reception?
The atmosphere was unbelievable. From the first minute, the fans were behind the team and giving them support. And I think when you look at the team’s and the player’s performance, we wanted to go to get that win. But you know, with a different team and a little bit of luck maybe we can score a couple of goals.
Your second game in charge of Crystal Palace in the Premier League, do you feel you’re beginning to embed your philosophy in terms of the style of football you want to play with Crystal Palace this year?
I think so. We have an identity and we try to build a philosophy of playing, obviously. But at times you can’t play because your opposition put you under pressure. So you just have to find a way to get out of the pressure. But the thing that I was really pleased with today was the concentration, the positive attitude from the players on the field. I think the players – with the support of the fans- tried to win the game. Obviously, we didn’t score the goals. And we have to keep working on having more people inside the box to allow ourselves to score more goals. But when you look at the last game that we play against Chelsea [and] the game today, we improved on the performance. We have to keep working because there’s still a lot of elements that need to improve. I’m really happy with the players’ attitude in training the way they’re working. And that performance has to be a benchmark for us. And that will allow us to improve ourselves and to win football matches, because at the end of the day, we need to win games.
Is one of those improvements going forward a cutting edge up front?
Yes, of course. I think it’s working on the last 30 yards about our position inside the box and having more players inside the box. So that element of the game needs to improve and we will work on that.
What did you make of Connor Gallagher’s debut?
I think Connor had a really good game. I think he was unlucky not to score the chance that he created. You know, he’s a player that is full of energy on the field. The club worked really hard to bring him to Palace and I was really pleased that we convinced him to come to us and you will be an important player for our football club.
In the second half, he wasn’t quite as effective as he was in the first half. Why do you think that was?
That was his first game, I think he was a time up and down during the game physically. But overall, I think he has had a really solid performance and I was really happy with his performance in the first and in the second half.
Your team were quite combative today, there was a lot of tackles going in and a lot of flying challenges. Was that something you asked them to do – to be more physical? Or is that something they took upon themselves?
No, that’s just part of the DNA of the football club, I think, you know, players in the field, this is a given for the football club. You know, when you play in front of our fans, this is the minimum that we can do. When you look at the atmosphere today, players were at the level of the atmosphere in the stadium. And we have to build from that. And we have to keep really demanding in ourselves. And that is a benchmark for us to keep improving on the field but to keep that level of commitment every day. What will be really important for us is to be consistent – consistent in the way we want to play but consistent and having 100% commitment in every single game.
Wilfried Zaha was a little quiet today, what do you make of his performance? And what do you think was the reason behind him being a little bit quiet and a little bit frustrated today?
I think you Wilf have had a good game like the rest of the players. It’s true though that at times we didn’t find him, we maybe didn’t give him the ball enough early to create the 1v1 because this is one of his strengths. Maybe he didn’t have the support around to link the game. It was frustration from his side but this is something that he has to get used to. I think since he’s [started] playing in the Premier League he has been really looked at because of his talent and his strength. And now Will has to know how he can get the team out of a difficult situation in the field. And it’s the team that will help him to perform at the level that we know he can do.
How are you finding that challenge of being a Premier League manager? Are you going to go to bed tonight with lots of thoughts in your head about how you might have gone about this game differently at all?
Like every single game, you know, after the Chelsea game, I was calm and tonight I’m calm. I think it’s important to analyze the strength of the team and the weakness of the team and which part of the game they need to improve. This is only the second game of the season. There are some areas that we will need to improve. And with the players with the way they’ve been working in the last six weeks, we will get better. I think you all see that the performance is better than the last game that we played and we have to keep improving ourselves.
Thomas Frank said he gave his midfielders very specific instructions [on Gallagher]. What are your thoughts on the Brentford midfield today and the kind of challenges that they gave your side?
I wasn’t surprised about the Brentford energy because the game that they played against Arsenal showed it is one of their strengths. They work really hard for each other, they are well organized, and there’s some quality in the team. They make it really difficult for us obviously. The couple of tricks that the manager did in the second half – maybe this is one of the reasons that we didn’t see Conor as much as we did in the first half.
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