‘The transfer market is still open’ – Palace boss Patrick Vieira wants time to knit together his team

Thanks to a Conor Gallagher double, Crystal Palace fought their way back twice at West Ham’s London Stadium on Saturday to score their first goals of Patrick Vieira’s reign and double their Premier League points tally.

The South Londoners had an awkward start to the season, with Chelsea breezing past Vieira’s side, newly-promoted Brentford forcing a draw and Watford knocking them out of the EFL Cup.

When asked if the two-week international break will allow him to mould his real Crystal Palace side, Vieira said: “It’s still going to take time. We have to realise the changes within our football club. We are in the process of building a team that can compete in the Premier League, and that will take time. It’s not going to be easy at all.

“The performance that we had today, especially in the second half, the performance we had against Watford where we were knocked out of the cup – the team is improving game after game. We are going to build confidence and belief, and then we will compete in the Premier League.

“It’s going to be challenging. It’s going to be a period where things will not go our way, but it will be important for us to remain calm, focused and to keep working hard.”

After completing their sixth summer signing in Will Hughes, the Eagles are still working on adding more depth to Vieira’s side, with the three-time Premier League winner admitting he wants “more options” in the forward positions.

Speaking on the possibility of making signings before Tuesday’s deadline, Vieira said: “The market is still open. We are working to improve the squad. We are really short on numbers of players – we will do that.

“We want to have more options up front, and with the chairman and Dougie [Freedman, sporting director] we are working on trying to find that player that will improve the squad.”