Vieira tells team to ‘embrace Anfield’

PATRICK VIEIRA has called upon his Crystal Palace players to embrace ‘one of the best atmospheres in Europe’ at Anfield tomorrow night rather than shy away from it.

For all of Vieira’s fantastic achievements as a player, the Frenchman was never on the winning side at Liverpool through his nine years at Arsenal and one season at Manchester City.

However, Vieira wants his young Palace squad to take great inspiration from the noise generated at Anfield and use it to their advantage ahead of the daunting Premier League trip.

‘Everybody in the game knows the stadium, it’s a special ground,’ Vieira admitted.

‘You want to play in those kind of stadiums where the atmosphere is really strong. It’s going to be really challenging of course but there is excitement, to play in this kind of stadium, more than anything else.

‘I don’t have any doubts about the character and personality of my players.

‘I know we’re going to play our best. It may not be enough but we are not going there to hide.’

Vieira has admired what Jurgen Klopp has achieved during his managerial career but said: ‘I don’t think it’s about the managers. It’s about two football clubs and two teams who try to win football matches.’