Late night texts, tough love and an obsession for perfection: Playing for Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira made a name for himself in the Premier League as a tough tackling midfielder, who eventually led Arsene Wenger’s invincible team to dizzy heights.

But Vieira the manager is much softer and kinder than his aggressive on-field persona.

The results have proved that in modern-day football being a tough manager doesn’t always work.

There were doubts when Vieira took the Crystal Palace job, but one of the reasons behind his decision to accept the challenge was the text message he received from his former boss at Arsenal.

Wenger and Vieira have stayed in touch and continue to talk over phone and by text, especially when times are hard.

The former Arsenal boss named a few people he and both Vieira knew who had little impact in the game when they were active footballers, but have turned out to be good managers.

So Wenger tapped into that to advise the former French midfielder, assuring him that he had gathered enough knowledge in the game to be a Premier League manager.

That text message is still on Patrick Vieira phone.

One of the keys to Vieira’s early success at Palace has been his choice of assistant, who has been key in implementing the Frenchman’s ideas.

Osian Roberts, known by many as the most important man in Welsh football and the brain behind their Euro 2016 success, has been a good right-hand man and the pair are transforming Palace and turning Selhurst Park into a fortress.

The game against Everton provides the team a chance to return to Wembley, their first time since the 2015-16 FA Cup final when the Eagles eventually lost to Manchester United.

That was the game Alan Pardew showed off his dancing moves, remember?.

Palace go into Sunday’s quarter final 11th in the league table, without any relegation issues and looking to beat Roy Hodgson’s points tally from last season.

Whisper it quietly but the Palace fans have gone from initially doubting Vieira to adoring him, as was shown after his side held Premier League champions Manchester City to a pulsating 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

I hear they already have a song for him.

The silent revolution at Selhurst Park

Pivotal to the recent success and stability has been the recruitment and man management from Vieira, who has left no stone unturned.

He made a big decision to trust young Tyrick Mitchell by letting Patrick van Aanholt leave, and even in the face of doubt that decision has proven to be a masterstroke.

The young left back is currently knocking on the England door and going from strength to strength.

He gets a telling off from his manager every now and then, but Vieira insists he needs to continue pushing in the right way to ensure he reaches his full potential.

Another big decision was the call on letting the experienced Gary Cahill leave and bringing in young Marc Guehi.

There had been concerns over his lack of experience, but Vieira and his technical team had seen enough to know that he had all the attributes to shine in the Premier League.

There were set backs at the beginning of the season, but Guehi has developed so much he is now captaining the team and Palace have not lost whenever the former Chelsea man has had the armband.

Vieira has made Guehi his personal project with constant messaging, even late at night, to remind him of tactics and check on his well-being.

The Palace players often discuss the random late night texts from their boss, but they know and admire Vieira’s obsession to succeed at this level.

The former Arsenal midfielder - who won the Premier League, FA Cup, European Championships and World Cup - reminds them that they have to earn it.

“I will get the fall if we fail so I’ll always be honest with you when you’re not performing’ is his constant message to players,” he said.

Players admire his honesty and how he rewards hard work.

An example of this is Nathaniel Clyne’s return to the team after barely getting a game at the start of the season.

“Nothing he does impresses me because I see what he does in training everyday and he is a great professional,” Vieira said of the former Liverpool ace ahead of the Everton match.

“He wants it more and always is always showing up to try and improve things so he deserves his chances.”

Of all of Palace’s signings, the loan of Conor Gallagher has perhaps been the most impressive.

The young Chelsea midfielder was on his way to Leeds United, who were flying high under Marcelo Bielsa.

But one phone call from Vieira, to explain his vision and why Palace would be best suited to him got into the player’s head and persuaded him to stay in London now.

Gallagher has earned two England caps since then.

He’s developed and turned into a genuine star and could be running out at Wembley in red and blue.

What was supposed to be a nightmare job trying to replace the very stable Roy Hodgson, has turned into a dream job, with young players playing their best football and the club dreaming of a brighter future.

The players feel like the club is moving in the right direction and the scouting team is already working with the agents on the next batch of recruitments.

Vieira’s human touch

The staff at the Crystal Palace training ground have taken notice of Vieira’s honest human relations.

Their faces light up when speaking about the impact he has around the club’s Beckenham base.

An example of Vieira’s behaviour that makes players want to run through a brick wall for him, is when he heard about the passing of respected journalist Paul Jiggins.

He walked into the press room and gave a solemn speech, sending his best wishes to Paul’s family.

Vieira asked the media that his speech should not be broadcast, as he felt that it was the right thing to do.

Similar stories are told by staff members across the club, from the way he speaks to the security guards at the training ground to how he handles victories and defeats.

At a time when every fan is getting excited about a trip to Wembley, Vieira opts for the long term approach which is to get the right people in and create a culture that will make Wembley trips a regular occurence.

“It’s not crucial - not at all,” Vieira said.

“We have a good balance of young players and experienced players.

“Of course, those young players need to be surrounded by good professionals who can guide them as well, as those experienced players have a responsibility to help those young players to develop.

“We have good staff who spend time coaching, watching over videos to improve those young players and help them understand what they are doing well and what part of the game they need to develop.

“I strongly believe that those young players need to play games. As a club, what we’re doing is creating that pathway where those young players have game time to challenge themselves and improve.”

No matter what happens on Sunday, there is a feeling that something special is being built at Palace.