Patrick Vieira said he understands Tyrick Mitchell is going through a “difficult period” at Crystal Palace but is confident the full-back will finish the season strongly.
The 22-year-old academy graduate has been one of Palace’s most consistent performers this season and has started all 32 of the club’s Premier League fixtures so far. He was voted the team’s player of the month for November before earning his first call-up to the England senior team in March, making his debut off the bench in a friendly against Switzerland before starting against Ivory Coast three days later.
But in recent games, the full-back has come under some scrutiny for his role in giving away goals. Against Chelsea, at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final, he was dispossessed by Cesar Azpilicueta in the build-up to the Blues’ opener before, against Newcastle last week, Miguel Almiron held off Mitchell’s attempts to block his route to goal before curling what turned out to be the winner into the net.
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Vieira acknowledged that the left-back was going through a tough time of late, though he backed him to become a better player for it.
"He's a young player who has played a lot of football," the Frenchman told football.london last week. "He's been doing really well for us, a football club and as a team. He's going through a difficult period, but those periods will make him a better player. During a career - it can be at the start, in the middle or at the end - you will go through a difficult period, and it's about you manage those difficult periods.
"The best way we can do that is with his teammates, myself and the staff and club supporting him. There's no doubt about the way we see him as a player and as a person. It's not like we have to focus him more, we will keep working like we always have been with him."
Mitchell made his breakthrough into the Crystal Palace first team under Roy Hodgson last season, making 19 appearances in the Premier League while competing with Patrick van Aanholt for a spot in the side. Following the Dutchman's departure last summer, though, the club decided Mitchell would be able to take the left-back position as his own under Patrick Vieira.
And while other recruitments arrived to bolster the squad, no replacement for van Aanholt was signed, giving the clear indication that the club trusted Mitchell to take the next step in his career and become their first choice at left-back.
"When I arrived, the conversation that I had with Dougie [Freedman, sporting director] and the chairman [Steve Parish] was clear," added Vieira. "Tyrick had the potential to be the first choice in that position, and we wanted to give him that position. It was a really good decision because he hasn't let us down at all.
"Of course, there are still parts of his game he needs to improve to be more complete as a player, but he's achieved a lot this year, and there's a lot more to come. I'm really happy with what he's been doing at the moment."
