‘We are not there yet’ – Palace boss fires out Wembley warning ahead of FA Cup quarter-final tie against Everton

Patrick Vieira has issued a warning that Crystal Palace have not reached Wembley yet – and added that they must perform if they want to find a way past their FA Cup quarter-final opponents Everton.

The Eagles have knocked out Millwall, Hartlepool United and Stoke City and now come up against their first Premier League test of the competition.

Palace last reached this stage of the cup in the 2018-19 season under Roy Hodgson when they were beaten 2-1 by Watford at Vicarage Road.

Palace reached the final in 2015-16 and fell to an extra-time defeat to Manchester United.

“We are not there yet,” warned Vieira when speaking on the possibility of reaching the semi-final.

“We want to be there – we want to go. But it is an important game and a difficult one. It’s about performing well, playing well, and then we will allow ourselves [to have] more of a chance to go.

“We will not go if we’re not playing well. We need to perform, and it will be challenging.”

When asked about the importance of Palace reaching Wembley for the development of the club, Vieira said: “It’s not crucial – not at all.

“We have a good balance of young players and experienced players. Of course, those young players need to be surrounded by good professionals who can guide them as well, as those experienced players have a responsibility to help those young players to develop.

“We have good staff who spend time coaching, watching over videos to improve those young players and help them understand what they are doing well and what part of the game they need to develop.

“I strongly believe that those young players need to play games. As a club, what we’re doing is creating that pathway where those young players have game time to challenge themselves and improve.”