Every word from Patrick Vieira’s post-Newcastle United press conference – Palace boss on Zaha’s injury, the goalless draw and David Ozoh

Crystal Palace and Newcastle United played out a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.

The Eagles, who were playing their third game in six days, only registered one shot on target during the 90 minutes. 

Here is every word from Patrick Vieira’s post-Newcastle United written press conference from Selhurst Park:

The end of a tough week, in terms of fixtures. You have come away with two points from those three games. Is it enough to satisfy you?

“You always want more, but at the same time, you have to realise the teams that we have played against.

“We have played Chelsea, we played [Manchester] United, and today, we played Newcastle – those three teams are at a different level.

“But it was important for us to try and compete as best as we can against those teams.

“We did well against those teams. Today, it wasn’t easy at all. But we competed well, and we got the points which I strongly believe we deserved.”

Wilf came off in the second half. Do you have any update?

“There is no update. We will have to wait until Monday to really find out the nature of the injury.”

It looked like a hamstring injury?

“It looked like a hamstring injury, yeah.”

In this week of difficult fixtures, we often talk about Crystal Palace’s younger players. How much have you seen from them, digging in and doing the dirty work that they don’t often get praised for?

“The game today showed us that the other side of the game is really important for us. It’s not just about playing, having the ball, and trying to play some nice football.

“Today, it was all about defending well, sticking together, working well on the set pieces, defending the second ball on the set pieces and making it really difficult for them.

“That side of the game, we did really well. 

“The other side was that when we had the ball, we didn’t use it well enough to give them problems or create chances.”

Is it a reflection of how far Newcastle have come in such a short space of time that you’re having to sit back and respect them?

“When you spend millions, you move faster with where you want to be,” said Vieira of Newcastle’s league position.

“Of course, they’re doing really well and have a really strong team. That’s why I’m really pleased that we managed to get a point.

“They’re competing with the top three or four. The way that they build the team is to be in the Champions League.

“I’m really pleased with what we showed today and the point we took today.”

A proud moment at the end there for David Ozoh. To hand him his Premier League, how pleasing was that for you?

“It was good for him to get involved.

“What is really interesting about David is that he has been training with the first team for the last couple of weeks.

“Even last year, he spent time with us. It’s really good to see how he is improving week after week.

“He’s somebody who will be involved in training and be around the first team.

“He has the attributes to be a Premier League player.”

What has he shown you in those training sessions to earn that trust at just 17 years old?

“He can play. When he gets the ball on the field, he remains calm and makes some really good decisions in possession.

“Of course, physically, he is gifted and can compete at this level.

“Now it’s important to keep working with him and help him develop in the right way.”

Was the game plan today to sit back, frustrate Newcastle and try and pick them off, taking advantage of any weaknesses? Or was that just a natural consequence of their attacking talent?

“It was a natural consequence – this is a quality team.

“We struggled in the first half, because, in the midfield, they created an overload and we were late to put pressure on the ball.

“There were too much distances between Edouard and are back four, which allowed them to play between the lines.

“In the second half, we were a little bit more compact. We asked Jordan and Ebs to be a little bit more central and make it a little bit more difficult for them.

“But with the quality of the squad they have, it was going to be challenging for us.

“But I’m really proud and happy with the way we answered.”

Is there a way you can make your team more intense? Is there a way you can fix that intensity to play like the way you did towards the end of the game?

“Yeah, in the last couple minutes of the game, we maybe had a little bit more intensity in our game because the opposition were a little bit down, physically.

“If we started the game this way, it would be more difficult. This is what we wanted to do, but sometimes the quality of the opposition team doesn’t allow you to do what you want to do.

“That is why I’m proud of the team. We wanted to play to have possession, but we needed to put our sleeves up and show the other side of the game. 

“We did it well.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD