Crystal Palace answers question over why former Watford man not featuring

Patrick Vieira believes that it has been “challenging” for Will Hughes to bide his time on the Crystal Palace bench but insists that all of the players will be needed during the busy winter schedule.

Hughes, 26, joined the South Londoners in the summer in a £6million deal from Premier League rivals Watford but has yet to feature. He has had six straight appearances on the bench without making his debut.

However with James McArthur suffering a hamstring injury which Vieira says will “keep him out for a few weeks,” the congested festive period could present Hughes with the opportunity to claim a starting spot in the side.

Speaking on how Hughes has coped with biding his time on the Palace bench, Vieira said: “It’s been really challenging. It’s not just him – James Tomkins, Nathaniel Clyne, Jairo Riedewald, all of those players are training well and they all want to play.

“What I want from them is to challenge the players who are playing at the moment. If the team are playing well, if we have been progressing as well, it’s a lot to do with those players who are challenging those players who are playing every week.

“This is how we build a team. We don’t know what can happen tomorrow – some players can come on, and they will need to help the team to get the result. Everybody is responding really well about what we are trying to do, and everybody is feeling a part of it – this is really important for me.”

Hughes missed the past two games, wins against Manchester City and Watford, with a minor back injury but he featured in an in-house friendly win over Fulham during the international break.

“We have worked on different options all week – even if it was challenging because some of the players were on international duty,” explained Vieira on how he plans to shape his team in McArthur’s absence.

“There are still a couple of options there that I have not made a final decision on. What will be really important for us is to keep what we have been trying to do since the beginning of the season, so it’s not going to be any kind of big changes.”

Asked specifically on whether Hughes will play a big role in the side with Palace playing nine games before the New Year, Vieira said: “Yeah, but not just Will – Jeffrey Schlupp is one of the players as well who can play and has to play more.

“You have at the back, Martin Kelly, James Tomkins and Clyne, who have been training really well. We are going to go through a period where every single one of them will have an important part to play to help the team.

“You always try to build a team where players, when they are going to come in, will keep the level of the squad. We are lucky to have that.”