Patrick Vieira has spoken of the positivity around Crystal Palace ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Frank Lampard’s Everton.
The Eagles are in the midst of a five-match unbeaten run in all competitions, having held Premier League leaders Manchester City to a 0-0 draw on Monday.
Palace are 11th in the standings with nine games to go but the focus now is on FA Cup matters and Sunday’s shot at a Wembley semi-final for Vieira’s buoyant side.
“There is a positive vibe around the football club about the confidence the players and staff have at the moment,” he said.
“We know how challenging it is and how difficult it is to maintain performances or win games against Premier League teams.
“We try to be really consistent in our behaviour and mood. When things are going well we’re the same as when things are not going as well as we wanted.
“We keep working well, try to improve in training and have a clear idea about what to achieve on the pitch.
“The players, I’ve been really pleased with the attitude. The good period is with the way we’ve been working and the way the players are dedicated to football.”
Vieira believes such success is a reflection on the job being done from top to bottom at Palace, who saw summer signing Marc Guehi join on-loan Conor Gallagher in being called up by England this week.
“The first day I said this was the right club to implement the ideas I want to,” the World Cup winner said.
“I strongly believe the foundations of this football club are really solid.
“You have a chairman (Steve Parish) who is a fan and a sporting director (Dougie Freedman) who played at the highest level and has good experience.
“We had a good idea about the type of player we wanted to bring to the football club. This year it’s been a success.”
Vieira hopes there is more to come from a fruitful first season in the Palace dugout as he attempts to knock out an Everton side managed by Lampard, who he coached at New York City FC in MLS.
“I played against Frank for a couple of years and worked with him at New York,” the former France international added. “I don’t want to say I know him well but we know each other.
“When he was playing at New York and I was coaching the team of course we spent a lot of time talking about football and how we see the game.
“Seeing him as a coach at Chelsea and Everton, he had a really good experience as a manager.
“We had the same route: ex-players who want to do well at managing. We both know how difficult it is because he got the sack at Chelsea and I got the sack at Nice!
“Your name doesn’t matter. What matters is the result and the way the team plays.”
