Patrick Vieira issues Leeds United praise and makes frank Crystal Palace admission

Palace have enjoyed a fine campaign under first-season boss Vieira whose side have flirted with the top half of the table and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

However, the Eagles have now lost their last three games, league defeats away at Leicester City and Newcastle United sandwiching last Sunday's 2-0 Wembley reverse against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Vieira has highlighted how his side had good periods during those games and how the Eagles have previously bounced back from low spots but says his team must up their levels ahead of a test against a Leeds outfit that he has much respect for.

The Whites are fifth-bottom and just five points clear of the drop zone but United are heading to London having taken ten points from their last four games.

"They’re a good side," said Vieira at his pre-match press conference, as quoted by football.london.

"They, like the majority of the teams in the Premier League, play with a lot of energy.

"They have pace, and they have got a new manager with a different philosophy, but they’ve been doing well, so we expect a challenging game."

Pressed on the importance of returning to winning ways after three-straight defeats, Vieira reasoned: "This is the Premier League - it's about being consistent with performances and results.

"We had ups and downs in the season, but we've always managed to bounce back, to find a way to play better and win games.

"Lately, the results are not what we expected, but when we look at the performances, we had some really good periods in those games.

"But it wasn't good enough.

"We have to play better, and we have to play more together as a team for the 95 minutes to allow ourselves to be better."