‘Can only get better’ – Ray Lewington delivers verdict on Vieira’s Crystal Palace

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Former Crystal Palace assistant manager Ray Lewington had mixed emotions on his return to SE25 on Saturday with Watford – the first time he had been at Selhurst Park since departing the club in May 2021 with manager Roy Hodgson.

A 1-0 home win thanks to a Wilfried Zaha penalty mathematically ensured relegation for the Hornets, whose fate before the game was out of their hands.

“[After Palace] we had genuinely stopped, retired and it was only the fact that it (the Watford job) was five months,” Lewington told the South London Press.

“I’d been at Watford before and Roy just said: ‘Listen, do you want to give it a go?’. We had both made up our minds and were certain that was going to be it, but I suppose it just runs through your blood a little bit. You get tempted.

“Coming into the game we knew, really, we were relegated. It hasn’t worked out, which we’re really sorry about, but we gave it our best shot.”

Hodgson and Lewington, both with long affiliations to the Eagles, received a warm welcome from a 26,000 sold-out stadium.

It allowed many fans the opportunity to say goodbye properly after just 6,500 fans had been let in for their final match at home in May, against Arsenal, due to Covid regulations.

Lewington was mobbed by Eagles fans for autographs, selfies and handshakes from the older fans who recognised his contribution to the club as a whole and its recent healthy state.

And for the 65-year-old Lambeth-born Lewington, who was also a coach and assistant manager at Palace between 1994 and 1998, it reinforced his positive memories of his time in SE25.

“I’ve had two spells in my time at Palace and the one thing that is common in both is that I thoroughly enjoyed all of it,” he said. “It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s a great club, really good. One of the genuine English atmospheres when you come matchday. Roy and I have enjoyed every minute of it and it’s been brilliant.”

Ahead of the game, current Eagles boss Patrick Vieira, who took over from Hodgson, revealed to the South London Press that he had taken the Croydon-born manager out for dinner before taking the job and picked his brain about the club and its players.

“He took Roy for dinner, he’s a good guy,” said Lewington about the former France captain and World Cup winner. “Roy had a conversation with him beforehand and then filled him in on what the players could do and what they couldn’t do.

“The style of play is different now because they’ve got different style players,” explained Lewington about the current Vieira-led side.

“The two centre-backs are young and athletic which we didn’t have, we had an ageing squad. If you’d said to us where do we need to improve, then it would have been the two centre-backs who were 35 and 36 when we were here – they did brilliant, don’t ever get me wrong, I’m not having a go, but if you’re saying what do you need? You need younger legs.

“[Conor] Gallagher obviously is a class act and they will miss him, but you’ve got wide players who can do a little bit on the ball. It’s looking a really good squad. A very, very athletic squad, very young squad and it can only get better. Palace are looking a good side now.”

Despite the disappointing return to Selhurst for Lewington, it was a chance to reflect on the four years he had with Hodgson at Palace which Vieira acknowledged had laid the platform and foundations for the team he has now, one with an FA Cup semi-final behind them this season and current top-10 position.

“We had a glass of wine, but we just talked in general terms, football, nothing specific,” said Lewington about meeting up with Vieira post-match on Saturday.

“It was lovely to see the chairman [Steve Parish] come down and all the staff in there too. Brilliant. Listen, we had a lovely time here and a really, really top group of players. We can look back and think that was a lovely time of our lives.”

So once the season finishes for Lewington is that it for him in the dugout?

“Now’s the time to stop, I think that will be it,” he said. “I’ve got two boys that unbelievably still play and once the season is over I hope next season I’ll be watching both of them play.”