patrick vieira manager
After a great win against Arsenal is it your job to make sure everyone’s feet are firmly on the ground?
We have always had our feet on the ground. I was really pleased with the performance against Arsenal. But the challenge for us is to find this kind of consistency that we’ve been talking about. It’s trying to repeat those kinds of games and those types of performances.
Almost impossible to finish eighth – how do you keep the hunger up and the levels?
We can finish below ninth and our aim is always to progress individually and collectively. We have to finish as high as we can and we have to look at our performances game after game. It’s about progressing. As a team, there are still a lot of departments of the games that we need to improve. There are a lot of things that the details of our game that we want to improve. So there will be hard work and concentration from the players until the end of the season and I don’t have any doubt about that.
Team news for Leicester?
Everybody is feeling good. We just had Nathan [Ferguson] who has had a step back. Outside of Nathan, everybody should be training tomorrow.
Thoughts on the game? A big challenge?
Yes, it’s a big challenge and we’ve prepared ourselves really well. It was a good week of training and again, we will have to try to play as best as we can and try to improve those kinds of details that I was talking about earlier.
Have you spoken to Dougie Freedman and said we need to keep this group of players together?
No, we don’t have this kind of conversation yet. Our main focus is to finish the season well, we will have time to build or to talk about what we need to improve. But we have those young players and the plan is of course for them to stay as long as we can in the football club. They are part of the football club and we want to build something here. We will always try to improve the squad, improve the team, but those young players who are here with us, they will stay with us. They have a big potential. We know what they are capable of doing. But they still need to work and to improve because they still have some stuff that they are missing.
Liverpool vs Manchester City – you played in big title-defining games so what are your memories of those big matches and what advice would you give to those players?
I don’t have any advice to give. I will just be like all of you, sitting in front of the TV and enjoying the game of football. And of course, it’s going to be tight between these two football clubs and that makes the league and makes the game that we all love really exciting and I’m just like watching it.
Jamie Carragher said this rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool is the best the Premier League has ever seen. I guess you’d say your rivalry with Manchester United was probably the best?
I let people make their comments and stay with those comments. This is his opinion and I have nothing to say. I think that rivalry is really good for the game. I think everybody who loves the game, is really excited about that game and this is what we want to see. So that’s really good for the Premier League.
You’ve got a chance of finishing above Leicester, do you use that as an incentive for the players?
Yes, I think this is the excitement and the kind of pressure that we want to put on our shoulders. We want to be higher in the league and to be higher you will need to put in a really good result against Leicester. That is not just about the game – the result is important because that will help us to be more comfortable in the league – but it’s about the performances as well and how do we want to play and to challenge the players, because what we want is to progress game after game. The game that we played against Arsenal was positive, but there are still some aspects of the game that we need to improve. One of our targets is to be better as a team and for players, individual players to improve themselves as well.
What aspects specifically do you need to improve?
Looking at how we managed the game and, of course, until we scored that third goal, it was quite really good. After it’s about how did we manage the last 20 minutes, I think we could do a little bit better and concede less chances. I think Arsenal had a couple of chances in the last 20 minutes and that’s part of playing well and being really demanding on the players. I was really satisfied with the performance and I was really happy. But yes, we want to improve, we want to be more consistent game after game. But we want to be more consistent from the first to the last minute as well. And of course, that will come with time and with experience. But this is something that I want the team to improve
Both teams are evenly matched, where can you find an edge?
It is about game managing and, of course, taking chances when we create those opportunities. We will want to play as well as we did against Arsenal, away from home and dominate the game as much as we can. But we’re going to face a really good team with some individual talent and that will be a really good test for us. Yes, in the last couple of weeks, we’ve been having good results, we’ve been playing quite really well. But the challenge for us is to be consistent in those kinds of performances and that’s why the pressure will be there.
Is the FA Cup semi-final in your mind at all?
No, it’s not in my thinking. And it’s not in the players’ thinking and that will not have an impact on the starting XI that I choose. We have time to think about the FA Cup, the main focus is on Leicester and about putting the best squad to win the game.
Were you able to do that as a player?
Yes, I think we just try to find the best way to prepare the game and to prepare the game is to perform well and to play well. And of course, if you manage to win the game that will give you more confidence, but nothing will change. We are really excited about this semi-final but we will have time to think about it and to prepare ourselves after the Leicester game.
Is the team now less reliant on Wilfried Zaha?
This is the strength of a squad and on a team – to count on the ability of the squad to get the result. But of course, Wilfried is a massively important player for us. And we are stronger when Wilfried is on the team. And you’re looking at every team in the league, you have a player that can make a difference. And Wilfried is one of them for us. I’m glad that he’s playing well and he’s creating chances, and he’s scoring goals. He’s in a really good period at the moment.
How do you keep him at that high level?
Challenge him. There’s a lot more he can do for the team. He’s working hard, he’s creating chances and he’s scoring goals. I’m really happy with his performances at the moment. And again, the challenge is the same for him as the rest of the players – to maintain those kinds of performances.
Will you need to do anything differently this weekend to ensure there’s no drop-off ahead of the FA Cup?
No, nothing. We do our normal meetings, we had the same training programs and the attitude has been really good. We know what we want to achieve, we want to finish the season well, we will have an exciting game to play against Chelsea but the Leicester game is important for us. We want to build on what we’ve been doing in the last couple of weeks and we want to keep that kind of performance and that kind of result because it’s taken time to build. So we know the details and the ingredients that we need to provide every week and every day in training to allow ourselves to be more competitive.
Is it hard to find things to work on to improve?
We can find a lot of things that we still need to improve. Individually with the players and collectively as a team. I think we can create more chances, the balance of the team can be better. And of course, the way we manage games can be better as well. I think we show a lot of progress. But there are still big steps for the teams to improve.
Thoughts on UEFA giving extra places to teams who have a ‘good history’ in the competition if they don’t qualify through league position?
I believe that will kill the game to be honest with you. European competition has to be given to teams by merit and by what they achieved during the season. If you start to give places to teams because of history, I think better going into the Super League.
Nathan Ferguson injury?
It’s a new one. He is really disappointed because Nathan’s been working quite hard to get back. It’s just a step back so he will come back hopefully very soon.
