Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira admits he’s frustrated that Chelsea have rejected a request from the Eagles to let Conor Gallagher play in next Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final.
Vieira had hoped the on-loan midfielder would get the green light to test himself against his parent club at Wembley. But the Blues, who beat Middlesbrough in their quarter-final, have stuck to FA rules which stipulate loaned players cannot play without written permission from the lending club, meaning the England star will have to sit out of the game.
Vieira said: “It’s not the best rule because the only one who will lose is Conor. There’s a semi-final, it’s a really exciting game about how you will manage yourself and prepare yourself to play that game, then there’s playing that kind of game and the importance of it.
“It’s an experience the player is missing and I’m disappointed for him. He has played all the games so far and if there’s somebody who deserves to be in the semi-final, it’s him because of his performances, so I’m disappointed he won’t be able to play.
“The decision for Chelsea to send him on loan is to play these kind of games. We have as a group an opportunity to play an important game and that game would have given him more confidence and belief. We could lose but for him to have been on the field is what he needs to keep developing himself. Since he has been with us, he has been fantastic and for him not to have a chance to get involved in that game, it is something frustrating for his development. I feel for him because he wanted to play in that game — every player would want to play in that game.”
Before the semi-final, Palace take on Leicester today and Vieira wants his club to learn from the Foxes about stepping up to become European regulars and silverware challengers. He added: “Leicester’s example is good example to follow because they have been really consistent in what they have tried to build and they have this kind of stability that gives them the opportunity to grow as a team and a football club.
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“Winning this game is not about sending a message — as a club, as a team, we want to finish as high as we can and if that is ninth or 10th we will try to get it. And this is as well a good period to see how ambitious we are as individual players to want to finish in the top half of the table. That comes from me as the manager and the staff to drive the players but the players as well have to have this kind of fire and determination to finish in the top half of the table.”
Vieira is also looking forward to seeing fellow Arsenal Invincible Kolo Toure, Leicester’s first-team coach. He said: "I love Kolo, we had a really good time at Arsenal, we have a really good relationship, we still talk, and I’m really glad he decided to go into coaching. I know he is really enjoying his time at Leicester, he is learning a lot next to Brendan Rodgers and I hope he will make the step up to management.”
