Patrick Vieira: End of transfer window set to be critical to Crystal Palace rebuild

New Crystal Palace head coach Patrick Vieira has described the club’s summer overhaul as ‘brave,’ and the Frenchman believes it was the right time for the Eagles to carry out such a significant change.

Along with the departure of Roy Hodgson and a handful of the backroom staff, the South Londoners allowed nine senior first-team players to leave the club on free transfers during the summer, including Patrick van Aanholt, Scott Dann, Gary Cahill and Andros Townsend.

But since the 45-year-old was appointed as Hodgson’s successor at the start of July, the Palace hierarchy have begun supplementing Vieira’s new squad with young, ambitious signings, with Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher joining.

Vieira said: “We all know it will take time to gel as a team. We lost 10 players, and we have brought in five, that is why we are quite light in numbers. That’s why the end of this window will be really important for us to bring in more players – that will allow us to become more competitive.

“As a football club, we thought that it was the right time to do it – we had to do it. It’s the end of a cycle, and it’s important to start a new one. When you make those decisions, it’s not an easy decision to make, but the club has been really brave to make those decisions.

“Now, it’s important for us to try to play good football and to win football matches. People have to recognise that was the right thing to do, and the football club has been really brave to make that decision.”

After an unbeaten pre-season, Vieira’s first test sees his side visit Stamford Bridge to take on Champions League winners Chelsea. When asked if he felt pressure heading into his professional debut as Palace’s head coach, he said: “When you decide to come to manage in the Premier League, the pressure is part of our day on day basics.

“It’s not going to be more pressure on me than it can be on any other manager in the Premier League.

“When you step into the Premier League, you have to live with that pressure; you have to deal with those kinds of pressures because of the expectation and demand of the Premier League. I know how challenging it will be, and I am ready for it.

“There is no doubt about what I can achieve as a manager, and there is no doubt about what we can achieve as a football club.”

With Palace’s summer business far from over, and Vieira citing the midfield and forward positions as areas in which he says that his side is “short”, there is the possibility that the club’s academy players will be handed the opportunity to impress the French World Cup winner in the early stages of the season.

“Some of them will have a chance to be a part of the first-team squad,” said Vieira. “It’s something really important for the football club to have those young players coming through the academy. We have a couple of them who are quite really interesting, and we will work with them and try to make them improve and give them a chance to show what they are capable of.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD