Patrick Vieira says he understands the frustration of Crystal Palace fans after a 2-1 defeat at home against Southampton. Palace bowed out of the FA Cup at the third round stage as the Premier League’s bottom club came from behind to beat the Eagles at Selhurst Park after Odsonne Edouard had given Vieira’s side the lead in the 14th minute. Speaking to Palace TV,
Patrick Vieira said: “Of course, that is normal after losing the last three home games and conceding so many goals, it has to be concerning. I know that the result at the end is important, but there are some important elements in what we are proposing to believe that we can turn things around, because of the support we have at home of course, but the quality that we show at times. If we can be consistent in the games and go to a different level in our mindset, I think we can turn those performances into wins.”
As for the game against Southampton, Vieira felt his side did not capitalise on their positive start after taking the lead through former Celtic striker Edouard. And he said that Palace have to learn quickly after conceding from a James Ward-Prowse free-kick before a mistake from Eagles goalkeeper Vicente Guaita allowed Adam Armstrong to score the winner for the Saints.
Patrick Vieira said: “Everyone is really disappointed because we wanted to go to the next round. I thought we started well with the first goal, but then we became a bit sloppy and we had some situations in the counter attack, which we didn’t deal with well enough. We are disappointed with the second half, and the two goals we conceded. The performance was up and down and we have to keep learning. It is a hard way we are learning at the moment and when you create those opportunities you have to take them. Our mindset has to change and has to be better because we weren’t consistent enough for us to go through to the next round. It is important for us to keep working hard and be demanding of the players in training every single day. It is important to keep the discipline that we want to create and it is important to create competition for the players to challenge them. And that’s why I hope we will bring in some of the quality players we are looking for to make us stronger.”
