Will Hughes says Crystal Palace will be going “all guns blazing” next season as they bid to improve on their 12th-placed Premier League finish under Patrick Vieira.
The Eagles beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday to bring an end to what has been a promising first campaign under Vieira’s management. The Frenchman successfully helped rebuild the playing squad last summer after the club had let 11 first-team players leave at the end of their contracts, recruiting players in their place who could help implement Vieira’s attractive, possession-based brand of football at Selhurst Park.
The result has been better than almost any fan would have expected, especially given the apathy that had grown during Roy Hodgson’s final season in charge. Palace improved on their league position from last season by two places and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for just the fifth time in their history, all while playing an exciting style of football geared towards entertaining and attacking play.
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This has all brought a feel-good factor to the club, with fans celebrating having an ambitious manager with young, talented players at his disposal. There’s optimism over what can be accomplished in the near future and even players like Hughes, who was limited to just 20 appearances in his first season at the club, have bought into the project.
“I enjoyed it,” said the midfielder. “It was one of the most enjoyable seasons that I’ve had in a long time. It was difficult for me because I didn’t really have a pre-season. I was coming off cold and then in and out of the team. But I’ve massively enjoyed the whole experience, and I’m going to kick on next season because there’s a lot more to come from me.
“At the start of the season, the lads were playing so well. [It shows that] the squad is really strong on the pitch and that everyone has played their part. Everyone is pushing each other, and there’s healthy competition for places, so it’s all guns blazing for next season.
Hughes started Sunday’s win over Manchester United and played 83 minutes before coming off, helping the Eagles bounce back from a disappointing defeat to Everton last Thursday, where they conceded three times in the second half to throw away a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park.
That loss was somewhat overshadowed by the two pitch invasions by Everton fans, first following Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s winner in the 85th minute and then at full-time once the Toffees’ Premier League survival was secured. Both pitch invasions brought with them trouble for Palace’s players and staff, with Christian Benteke ‘slapped’ by one fan and Patrick Vieira involved in an altercation with another while trying to exit the pitch at full-time.
football.london understands that Palace are in the process of reporting the details of what happened to the Football Association in the coming days, with Vieira calling for more help from the governing body as well as the Premier League with the number of pitch invasions spiking in recent weeks across the county.
“Everyone can make their own mind up about what happened,” added Hughes on the pitch invasions at Goodison Park. “It’s difficult for stewards to stop it when there are thousands coming on, but I think, with all of the incidents we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, there needs to be a change. We need to have a look at how we can deal with it because it’s not just a simple case of telling fans not to do it as they’re just going to keep doing it. They need to get around that and make it safe.”
