Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira is hoping the closure of the summer transfer window will allow his squad to concentrate on matters on the pitch as the Frenchman prepares for the next Premier League fixture against Newcastle United with his talisman Wilfried Zaha still in his plans. 

As the clock struck eleven last night, The Eagles finished the day without getting any further deals across the line. Despite interest in Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Djibril Sow, the south London club were forced to enjoy signings they had made earlier in the window - Malcolm Ebiowei, Sam Johnstone, Cheick Doucoure and Chris Richards.

The starting squad has been reinvigorated by the arrival of Doucoure, who has already impressed in midfield. But the consensus among those that support the club is that the summer months were relatively disappointing for Patrick Vieira.

Palace appear to be short of a mobile forward like Ismaila Sarr and a pressing central midfielder like Conor Gallagher - both of which were linked to the club.

Vieira has repeatedly stated the need for more players, particularly in more recent weeks. However, the Frenchman expressed a change in attitude today as he spoke to the media ahead of the weekend, suggesting that he is happy with the squad he has at his disposal. 

  • Transfer window reaction

When asked about his feelings on Palace's transfer window, Vieira said: “As a football club, we had a clear idea about what we wanted, the profile of players we wanted to bring.

“We’ve been clear about not bringing in players to make numbers. I said from the opening day I was happy with the group we have.

“You identify players, discuss with clubs and see if they are prepared to let players go. Some will say yes and some will say no, but it’s not easy to bring players in.

“People can get really frustrated when you see the money spent in the Premier League, but you need to understand who we are as a football club. We work our best, try hard to bring players because we always want to improve the squad.

“If you don’t find that player, for whatever reason, you have to move on. I believe we have enough in-house to be competitive.”

The confidence that Vieira has in his current squad is something that is evident on the pitch. The Frenchman has continually tweaked his system to match the opposition - this would perhaps not be feasible if the group of individuals at the club had shown a lack of both adaptability and capability.

Altering between a four and five-man defence has already paid off this season. A 1-1 draw at Anfield and a 3-1 victory over Villa are evidence of such feat. Now, Vieira can mute the racket that the transfer window brought with it and concentrate on business on the pitch.

As the manager explained, “It’s good because players who are here know they’re here, and players who are not, know they’re not here. We can concentrate on the next game against Newcastle."

  • Newcastle United (A)

St James' Park on Saturday afternoon is the first time Crystal Palace will play since the closure of the summer transfer window. It is a chance for Vieira to demonstrate the squad's strength to those who remain unhappy with his dealings.

While Allan Saint-Maximin and Bruno Guimaraes are still racing against the clock to be fit for Newcastle's next Premier League fixture, the Magpies have shown as recently as midweek that they're a different monster under the extravagant new Saudi-led ownership and pragmatic tinkering of Eddie Howe.

After a captivating 98 minutes where Newcastle pushed Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool to their limits and took them to the wire, only a late Fabio Carvalho strike could dishevel the injury-struck squad from clinching a valuable point early in the season. 

New signing Alexander Isak was a handful for the Liverpool defenders throughout and will undoubtedly cause Palace a lot of problems at the weekend. But The Eagles themselves have highlighted that they have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with anybody in the league.

The most significant problem for Vieira on Saturday is his side's fragile away form. Crystal Palace have picked up one point from their past three away league games, despite opening the scoring (and leading at half-time) in each one. 

  • The importance of Zaha

No team in Premier League history has led at half-time and yet failed to win four consecutive away games, but the solution to their concerns could lie within the goalscoring habits of Wilfried Zaha.

The Ivorian has scored 13 goals in 20 Premier League games so far in 2022, as many as he had in his previous 45 appearances. It’s his best return in a single calendar year in the top flight.

In a passionate interview following the disappointment of failing to hold onto a one-goal lead at home to Brentford, Zaha lamented his frustrations at Palace's trend of conceding late on. 

He said: "Just one lapse in concentration, it ruins all the hard work. We literally just had to keep it tight.

“It’s like as soon as we went in the lead we just started to defend. I don’t see why we do that. If we just continue pressing on, I feel like we could’ve got a second and just ended the game. But we just killed ourselves in the end.

“Our problem right now, which in due time we’ll fix, is just last-minute goals. It throws away the whole performance."

With the help of Zaha's potency at the start of the campaign, threaded together with the return of Michael Olise to the starting lineup, The Eagles should be able to eradicate their complacency. Vieira will hope that it starts against Newcastle, but it won't be easy.