By NewsBits
Crystal Palace have sacked Patrick Vieira as the manager of the Premier League club. Vieira was sacked after 18 months in charge. Crystal Palace confirmed this via a statement issued in the early hours of Friday.
The club stated that three members of Vieira‘s coaching staff – Osian Roberts, Kristian Wilson and Said Aigoun – also left the club. Speaking on the development, the Chairman of Crystal Palace, Steve Parish, said: “It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made. Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status.
“That said, Patrick’s impact since joining us in the summer of 2021 has been significant, and he is held in the highest regard by myself, and all of his colleagues. He led the team to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final and respectable 12th placed finish last season playing some exciting football, which was a challenging and crucial campaign for the club given the changes we made to the squad prior to his arrival.
“Patrick Vieira has given his all to the club, and we all thank him and his team for their service. We also wish Patrick, Osian, Kristian, and Said the very best for their futures.” The club stated that the process to appoint a new manager is underway, noting that the club will provide an update in due course.
“Dean Kiely will remain as goalkeeping coach,” Crystal Palace added. Vieira left the club after a run of 12 games without a victory in all competitions – with their last victory coming on New Year’s Eve 2022. That run saw Crystal Palace exit the FA Cup at the third round to Premier League bottom side Southampton, while they have slipped to within three points of the relegation zone.
Vieira’s last match in charge of Palace was a 1-0 loss to the Eagles’ rivals Brighton, the fourth successive game in which the south London club have failed to score.
