Patrick Vieira urges his Crystal Palace team to be 'more aggressive' ahead of a visit from Aston Villa

The Crystal Palace boss can see the positives in his team's performances against Arsenal and Liverpool but encourages a change in mentality heading into The Eagles' home clash against Aston Villa. 

Patrick Vieira urges his Crystal Palace team to be 'more aggressive' ahead of a visit from Aston Villa
(Photo by Will Russell - Getty Images)
robin-mumford
By Robin Mumford

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has highlighted his team's mentality as an area for improvement as he welcomes Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa to Selhurst Park on Saturday.

So far, The Eagles have shown signs of progression this season in their performances, but without a Premier League victory to show for it, the Frenchman will hope that the third game week signals a change in fortune. 

Speaking about what his side must improve against Villa if they are to secure their first win of the season, Vieira said: “The two games we played [Arsenal and Liverpool], the performances were positive.

"We still have a long way to go. When you analyse the game properly we’re still making mistakes that cost us goals. On the other side, we created enough chances to score more than we did.

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“The performances are good, yes, but we still need to improve if we want to win football matches. If we want to win football matches we have to be more consistent.

“We concede goals we could avoid by paying more attention and being more aggressive. On the other side, we created more chances to be more clinical. On both sides of the game, we can improve and we need to improve as soon as possible if we want to win football matches.”

  • Transfer business not done yet?

As the media prepared for Crystal Palace's upcoming fixture, it was also disrupted by the background noise of ongoing transfer talk. Especially in the summer months, it is always difficult for managers to avoid the conversation.

"When I look at the news, we have been linked with a lot of players," he said. "Of course, it's difficult and not good for me to talk about players who are under contract with different teams.

In recent days, Crystal Palace have been linked with Lyon's creative midfielder Houssem Aouar, whose negotiations with Nottingham Forest broke down after the newly-promoted team opted for Morgan Gibbs-White, instead. 

But while Vieira insists that Palace are still in the market, he admits that it won't be straightforward for the south London club.

"I have always been clear that we are short on numbers, we want to have a couple more players, we want to improve the squad, and then if we identify these players, it may happen, it may not, because we may not have the resources to make it happen.

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Another of those who have been cited in the newspaper as a potential deal for Palace sees the return of Aaron Wan-Bissaka after his move to Manchester United has slowly led to his demise, especially since Erik ten Hag has outlined that the defender is not in his plans.

When asked about the supposed interest in the south Londoner and his qualities, Vieira replied: "I don't have any comments to make. I think that when you play in the Premier League, you are a good player, no matter which team you play for."

Whereas the focus of the press conference quickly escalated from pre-game thoughts for the upcoming Villa clash to potential arrivals, it wouldn't be a standard summer without the fluttering rumours of a Wilfried Zaha departure.

The Ivorian has been the centre of attention ever since he arrived in south London, and it is no surprise to hear several clubs are closely following his every movement. 

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His coolly-placed goal beyond Alisson against Liverpool last time out will only boost the talisman's chances of finding a home at a club higher up in the football pyramid - but Vieira has suggested that there are no intentions for Zaha's exit this season. 

"The only thing that matters to me is how he is conducting himself every day, and for me, when I look at him, again, this morning in training, and then with his performance against Liverpool, I see a player who is happy and is enjoying the way we play football.

"He has never told me that his plan is to leave."