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Football London
Football London
Sport
Mark Wyatt

Every word Patrick Vieira said on Southampton win, Wilfried Zaha winner, Ebere Eze goal and more

Enjoyed that result?

I really enjoyed it because going one nil down at half-time, I think we didn't deserve that. The team didn't deserve to go one nil down. And we came back in the second half with a bit more quicker passing. Then we managed to score those two goals and I was really pleased with the character that we showed. And not just the character, but the quality of our game, our passing I think it was really good performance away from home and that's why I was really pleased that we we bounced back and won the game.

Zaha on the bench?

The game against Leeds was in our legs and especially Wilfried. It was just the turnaround and the plan was for him to come on. I think it's important for players to believe and understand that we are a team and that team, we have quality players like Wilfried and Eze but everybody has an important role to play. And, of course, Wilfried came on and then scored that goal and it was really good for the team.

Eze goal a good moment?

It was a long journey for Ebs and I'm really pleased for him because being out for seven months is really challenging. He is a player who loves football. He likes to be on the field, he loves playing the game, he loves playing football. So he went through some difficult period where there was a lot of frustration not to play or not to start and not to get involved. And in the last couple of games, he's been playing more and that's good for him and he is really ready to perform at this level.

READ MORE: Ebere Eze stars, Wilfried Zaha shines off bench - Crystal Palace player ratings vs Southampton

Hold him back and manage him?

The priority with Ebs was to give him time to get back to his best. With the medical department, we had a really good plan about how long it's going to take for him to get back to his best and we didn't want him to ever step back. He will say to you that it takes longer than he wanted to. But at the end, what is important is that today he is capable of playing game after game and is capable of playing 90 minutes with no reaction after games and this is good. So we are pleased with the time that he takes to get him where he is today.

Important not to rush players back?

We just have to prioritise what is important. And what was important for us, talking with the medical department, was not to get another step back. So since he got back, we had a really good plan. We push him week after week, he played some games with the Under-23s and that was part of the plan. And today he is really ready to compete week after week and is ready to play two games in a week. So we are pleased that we took our time and for him to get where he is today.

What did you learn about the players today?

At half-time in the dressing room, there was a lot of positive energy because we felt that we didn’t deserve to go 1-0 down at half-time and we strongly believed there was a space for us to get back into the game and to even win it. It was a really positive vibe in the dressing room and we wanted to go back and start in the best way possible to get into the game.

We had a lot of possession and we didn’t use the ball well at times but we always felt there would be a chance for us to get into the game and to win it. We moved the ball quite really well and we defended well and that’s why I was really pleased that we won the game at the end because the players really deserved those three points today because they worked hard but worked really well.

Pleased with the belief shown?

The belief is good and the confidence is good. What is important for me is for players to understand what we are trying to do. When you play that well, you have possession, you create chances, you enjoy it even more, but everything is not perfect. When you have that much possession you need to use the ball better, we’re still missing a little bit of quality in our last third of passing and this is something we need to work on and improve.

Half-time message?

That was the message it was about in the last 30 yards, be a little bit more ruthless and try to be a little bit more quality in the last pass, try to make the right decision to put the teammate in a good position to score goals. The cross came from the right-hand side and Ebs was in the box because we needed to have more bodies inside the box and it was a really good finish by Ebs.

Thoughts on Zaha's winner?

He holds the ball, he’s quite strong, he can use his body really well. He’s got this desire to score goals, he took chance and this is really good. I’m really pleased that we won the game because that will give us more confidence and belief, especially the way we played today.

Could have gone down but stayed on his feet, proving people wrong?

I’m not worried about who that came from. Wilfried is a fighter, he stays strong on his feet, I don’t want him to change his game at all. He’s a goalscorer, he’s a winner. You can play in any ground and you know he will be up for it.

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