‘Express your talent’ – Patrick Vieira outlines his Crystal Palace philosophy

New Crystal Palace head coach Patrick Vieira wants his side to express their talent during his tenure.

Under the previous management of Roy Hodgson, the South Londoners were criticised for their defensive football. It was a style of play which often involved sitting back, soaking up pressure, and hitting teams on the counter-attack.

However, during their unbeaten pre-season campaign, Vieira’s Palace have played on the front foot. The Eagles have transitioned into a side that enjoys having the lion’s share of possession, playing out from the back and pressing with high intensity from the forward players.

Describing himself as a coach, Vieira said: “What is important for me is to, first of all, try to manage the players at the level I know they can do. If I manage to do that, we will play good football. What is important for me is to build the team. When you manage to build the team, and the players gel well together, and then after that, they will express their talent.

“I have to find a system and find a way that players can express themselves. It’s important for me to put players in a position where they can express their talent.”

When the South Londoners announced that Vieira would be taking over from the experienced Hodgson, the comparisons to Frank de Boer immediately began, with the fatal flaw in the Dutchman’s Selhurst Park stint ending so quickly cited as the rapid change in the club’s ethos.

When asked whether he was wary of trying to evolve the side instead of a quick revolution, Vieira said: “I have a way of playing the game, and it’s important for me to spend time with the players and make them understand what I expect and what I want from them – this is what we did in the pre-season.

“It will be important for me to organise the team really well, regarding the team we are facing, but not changing the philosophy that we want to implement.

“I am not going to be the only manager who wants to play nice football, wants to score goals and play really offensive football, but we have to do it in a certain way so that players can express themselves. It’s important for me to find the right balance between the offensive game and the defensive game.”

Vieira’s professional debut comes away against the Champions League winners Chelsea – and the three-time Premier League winner insists that his Palace side will continue with the same ethos he has implemented during pre-season at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

He added: “It’s important for us to know and to be aware of the team that we are facing. You may change the position of the field, but you are not going to change your principles. Playing against Chelsea, who I believe are among the best teams in the Premier League and the best team in Europe, it will be challenging – it will be difficult for us. But we have to go there with a good gameplan and give ourselves the best chance to perform over there.”