Ghana international, Jeffrey Schlupp
Ghana international, Jeffrey Schlupp has heaped praise on Patrick Vieira for introducing an attacking mindset to Crystal Palace.
The former Arsenal midfielder, who took charge of the team in July 2021, has impressed the fans and his brand of football is very popular amongst the players.
“We saw reports of him being appointed as manager,” Schlupp told Premier League Productions. “Obviously everyone knows who Patrick Vieira is. He’s a legend of the game, he’s a Premier League legend.
“It was exciting. Then to meet him face-to-face was a big moment for me personally, and for everyone else. He got his message across straight away, told us about his philosophy and the way he wants to play.
“I think everyone bought into that straight away. Everyone demands respect, but the respect for him was there straight away.
“We knew who he was and what he stands for. I think we took to him straight away, and believed in his philosophy straight away.”
Since his arrival, Vieira and his staff have been hard at work on the training ground trying to implement his particular style with the squad. Schlupp points to certain key areas of focus.
“I think it’s on our structure and shape,” he said. “I’ve had different managers, but I think this is probably the most we’ve focused on playing out from the back.
“It’s obviously a different time, a different era from when I started playing in 2010. The main focus is of course to play out from the back, to spread teams open and to press high up the field.
“I’ve learnt a lot from Patrick personally, and playing in midfield – he was obviously a midfielder – there are personal messages that he has passed on that I try to take on.
“One of the main things is the confidence in playing forwards, attacking well and playing together as a team, which is obviously a big thing in what we do.”
Developing a new style at the club is always a challenge, but Schlupp says it’s nothing the players will be unable to adapt to.
“Previously we did a really good job with Roy [Hodgson], which was in some ways different tactics,” he explained. “Everyone has been involved with different managers and different playing styles, so it’s just another different thing.
“We’re here to learn. He got his messages across really well and straight away, and I think we took to that well. It’s obviously a different style: we press high up the field, we play out from the back and we keep the ball.
“It’s something different to what we’ve been used to at Crystal Palace, but we’ve all been at teams where we’ve had those kinds of philosophies, or at academies, which helps in trying to get that into our game.”
Playing predominantly in midfield this season, Schlupp acknowledges that there have been frustrating results but can still point to plenty of positives.
“For me personally, I’m an attacking player and I like scoring goals,” he said. “I managed to score against my old team Leicester, which was a big thing for me.
“In general, I think how we’ve taken to the messages from the coaching staff [is a positive]. Not just the manager, all the staff. I think we’ve taken it on really well – everyone can see we’re playing some really good football.
“We’ve been unlucky with some results, so obviously where we might be in the table could be a lot different, but the way we’re playing as a collective is really positive, so there are lots of positives to take from that.”