‘That is why we love him – and why maybe some people don’t like him’ – Vieira on ‘desire’ of Wilfried Zaha

Patrick Vieira praised talisman Wilfried Zaha for his competitive desire shown on the pitch after the Crystal Palace forward had a frustrating afternoon against a stubborn Brentford defence.

Zaha, who scored in every game in which he featured during pre-season, could have had two assists on Saturday if Conor Gallagher’s effort hadn’t ricocheted off the crossbar and if David Raya’s fingertips didn’t thwart James McArthur’s shot from outside the area.

“Wilfried is a package,” explained Vieira when asked about Zaha’s passionate outbursts during the game. “That is why we love him, and this is why maybe some people don’t like him.

“But I love his competitiveness; he always wants to win. He will have to manage himself not to lose too much energy, but I will want him to keep that kind of desire that he has on the field to compete and to win football matches.”

Despite Vieira picking up the first point of his tenure at Selhurst Park, the returning home crowd became slightly frustrated at points during the second half, with Palace penned deep into their own half and attempting to play their way out of trouble.

“I didn’t see any kind of frustration from the fans,” said Vieira. “I was really pleased and really happy with the support that they gave us. This is a team that is learning to play together. We had a couple of players who have arrived and will see that this team will improve, but they will need time to really gel together.

“It’s just about decision making. At times, the players made the right decision to keep the ball because the opportunity to play forward wasn’t there. At times, the opportunity was there, and they didn’t do it, and that is part of the game that we need to improve – to try to make the right decision.

“I don’t have any time [frame] in my head,” said Vieira on the period of adjustment needed for his players to execute his style of football.  “I think that it will come with the number of games, one after the other, and the way we will improve game after game. The positive side about the game today is that, performance-wise, regardless of who we played, it was a better team performance.

“That gives us a benchmark for the rest of the season, even if we know that there’s still a lot to come from the team and from the players.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD