Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira said that the lack of energy his midfield has shown in the Premier League this season doesn't concern him ahead of another London league derby this weekend against Chelsea.
In contrast to last season's high-pressing midfield regulars Conor Gallagher, James McArthur and Cheikhou Kouyate, who ensured their opponents never got a moment's rest, The Eagles rank bottom of the Premier League in distance covered this term.
Despite this, the Frenchman defended his players on Friday, reminding those who criticise must look at the bigger picture. "With things like this, you need to take everything into consideration," he told VAVEL.
For much of his first season in charge, 'The Palace Way' under Vieira started in midfield. The trio he had forged in the centre of a 4-3-3 shape helped in both attack and defence to cover the whole pitch.
A lot has changed since last season, however - while only McArthur remains at the club, fitness issues have ruled him out of every Premier League fixture so far.
"You have to look at losing Conor and losing Cheikhou," Vieira continued. "Macca hasn’t played very often this season, either. We have different profiles of players but that is not a concern for me."
Had heavy home defeats to Fulham and Spurs, 3-0 and 4-0, not happened, perhaps the perspective would be different.
Instead, Palace have only come away with victory once in the post-World Cup period, while their last league outing brought about their heaviest defeat under Roy Hodgson's successor, who took over at the start of the 2021/22 season.
The unanimity among Eagles fans is that a player of Gallagher's energy is an important detail to the midfield. However, when asked whether his team lacks the personnel to play his style of football or if the change in tactics was made in a step toward evolving his own identity, Vieira was keen to cover all bases.
"Of course, there is a tactical approach to the game, but also, the profile of the players isn’t the same, which means we have had to change how we play."
That familiar reticent approach was employed in the next answer as the Frenchman replied, with a grin, "I still have 24 hours to make my final decision, so it will be between one or the other," when asked for his setup for Stamford Bridge.
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Could Will Hughes provide the answer?
When Sunday's opponent Chelsea announced that Gallagher would stay put in west London over the summer, disappointment fell over Palace.
They spent most of their summer dwelling over the possibility of securing the Englishman's services after a successful loan spell saw him become adored by everyone involved with the club.
But one of the positives from last time out against Southampton was Will Hughes' involvement, a player that could soften the blow of Gallagher's absence.
Though the former Watford midfielder has struggled with setbacks since his transfer across the Thames, he added a boost to Palace's midfield at the St Mary's in the FA Cup.
"I think he started the game really well; I liked the first half that he played. Then in the second, physically he dropped off a little, which I expected because of the lack of games, but I was pleased with his performance overall.
"When we play with the two holding midfielders like that, I like that he’s comfortable on the ball; that he can be the bridge between the way we want to build up and the way we want to penetrate. He has a really good understanding of the game and helps us to play better."
Mindset is a deep-seated part of his manager's coaching style. The character of a squad is important to Vieira, and while the 27-year-old still has a long way to go before featuring more often, his positive mentality is an indication of what he can bring for the rest of the campaign.
"He’s taken it like everyone else who doesn’t start," the Frenchman said. "What I mean by that is when he doesn’t start, the first thing he blames is himself, so I had a conversation with him a couple of weeks ago that the opportunity will always come, and he has to take it.
"To do that, he has to show every week that he deserves to be, and wants to be, in the starting eleven."
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Looking ahead to the game
Another disparity to last season is Crystal Palace's record against teams that are recognised as bigger and better than them. Last term, they were a nightmare for those above them, consistently taking points from teams higher than them in the table.
In response to questions about that change, Vieira said: "This is the thing with football. From one season to the other, you want to build from where you left it, and you have different challenges to make it difficult.
"Last year, we did better against those teams, but we know we have the quality to play better.
"It is about our mindset. We always talk about our consistency and our mindset, and I think the lack of maturity in our squad hasn’t allowed us to be consistent, and that makes it difficult for us to perform week after week, but you know, those players will grow and improve.
"That is a process which sometimes takes longer than what people on the outside expect."
Palace have not picked up points against their west London rivals since 2017 when Wilfried Zaha helped The Eagles to a 2-1 victory.
With The Blues struggling themselves, sitting in 10th place after a 2-1 defeat to Fulham in midweek, many will be quick to suggest this is the best time to play Chelsea.
Vieira disagrees, explaining: “At the moment, they may be in a difficult period because of everything going against them – and there are so many teams in that position – but it doesn’t take away the quality the quality of players and manager they have.
“We have to perform well and not think about the run of games they’re having at the moment. We want to focus on ourselves and improve on the last game – be more competitive, more consistent to allow ourselves to win.”
