Former Crystal Palace man makes Patrick Vieira claim

Former Crystal Palace forward Clinton Morrison believes Patrick Vieira is ‘under pressure’ with fans ‘not happy’ following the 1-0 loss to rivals Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.

The Lowdown: Another defeat

The Eagles made the trip to the south coast without a senior goalkeeper, resulting in Joe Whitworth making his debut. The 19-year-old impressed, but Palace fell to yet another Premier League defeat.

Solly March’s goal proved to be the difference between the two sides, although Vieira’s team did end their run of three games without a shot on target in the early stages, which resulted in chants from the away support.

It is still no win for Palace in 2023, who are now averaging a point a game and are just three points clear of the bottom three despite sitting in 12th place.

The Latest: Morrison’s comments

Morrison, who contributes to Sky Sports, was working as a pundit on the game and shared his thoughts following the loss. The former Palace forward claimed that supporters aren’t happy and that Vieira is ‘under pressure’ in regards to his future at Selhurst Park.

As relayed by journalist Andrew McSteen, Morrison said:

“He’s under pressure. The noises at Selhurst Park from the fans, they’re not happy, obviously, with the results. The performances have been good, but it is not being clinical enough.

“We say season upon season with the club: can they get a centre forward who could score them 10-15 goals?

“They have evolved…they do try to dominate the football now & create chances, which Patrick implemented, but they’re not clinical enough. It’s the same old story.”

The Verdict: Stick or twist

Palace are currently in free fall and have lost their last three fixtures in the top flight 1-0. Things don’t get any easier for Vieira, who travel to top-of-the-table Arsenal on the weekend.

Should the club suffer another defeat, they could find themselves slipping down the table even further, which may leave club officials needing to make a decision on Vieira’s future.

However, changing manager this late in the season when battling relegation ‘hardly ever leads to a better final league position’, so it could be a gamble by the board, who would need a quick appointment ahead of the run-in.

There is an international break after this weekend’s fixtures, though, so it’ll be interesting to see the club’s stance on Vieira, should they go to the Emirates and fall to a fourth straight loss.