Patrick Vieira says Crystal Palace must be as clinical as they were in the return fixture when they take on Norwich City at Carrow Road on Wednesday night.
“The most important thing is trying to play as well as we did when we played them at home,” Vieira said in his pre-match press conference. “[Dean Smith] brings a new dynamic in the team, and the players have responded really well with what he wants.
“They have been doing really well in the last couple of games and we’ll face a team who are playing with confidence, but I believe we have what we need to make it really difficult for them.
“At the same time, we have to play with belief and confidence and try to impose ourselves.”
Vieira was pleased with the way his team took their chances in meeting in December, and says they must show the same levels in front of goal.
“What was really good in that game was that we scored in really important times,” he said. “Every chance we had, we scored the goal. We were really clinical in front of goal.
“That was something that we need to be more consistent. We are creating a lot of chances but we don’t score enough. When we played them at home, we were clinical and this is something that we have to take for the rest of the season.”
Halfway through the season, Vieira says he is pleased with his side’s progress but that there is still plenty of work to be done.
“Of course I am [pleased] – but at the same time I believe we lost points,” he explained. “We made mistakes and we still need to improve in a lot of parts of the games that will take longer.
“Overall where we are, I’m quite pleased with it. It is important for us to do better and to win more football matches. Playing good football and playing well or creating chances is not enough. We need to be more ruthless in front of goal and defend better in our 18-yard box.
“If we manage to do that, I will be more pleased and more happy.”
That message will be reiterated by Vieira to his squad – with some players returning to fitness – ahead of the trip to Carrow Road.
“Macca [James McArthur] has been training in the last couple of days with the team,” the manager said. “James [Tomkins] as well. We have the majority of the players back now so that is good news.
“We’re going to try to go there and play a really good game of football. You can’t take three points if you don’t play well enough. We have to be solid, play with belief and confidence like we did in the last couple of games, and try to be more consistent in the 90 minutes.
“Then we can allow ourselves more chances of winning games."
