Patrick Vieira tells Crystal Palace to ignore FA Cup excitement and focus on Premier League

Patrick Vieira has told Crystal Palace FC to stay focused on the Premier League and not allow their FA Cup exploits to distract them ahead of important fixtures with Wolves and Manchester City in March.

The Eagles booked their place in the last eight of the competition with a 2-1 win over Stoke earlier in the week and discovered on Thursday they will host Everton for a semi-final spot, which would mean a trip to Wembley.

Palace have a nine-point advantage over the relegation zone but the 45-year-old urged his squad not to get too excited with plenty to play for in the division.

“No, honestly we did not talk about the draw at all,” Vieira insisted.

“The only conversation this morning in training was about the Wolves game and how important it is for us. We have had some positive results lately and it is important for us to keep that momentum.

“We wanted to have a really good run in the FA Cup and so far it has been good but there is still the game to come against Everton and a long way to go (before Wembley).

“We don’t want to get carried away or be too excited for it. We are pleased with where we are but we still know there are massive games to play before the FA Cup.

“In the league the games coming before will be massively important for us because we need points, need wins but going through builds this momentum, confidence and excitement we need and want.”

While 11th-placed Palace may look enviously at Wolves, sitting in eighth and in the mix to qualify for Europe in Bruno Lage’s debut campaign, Vieira pointed to the summer upheaval at Selhurst Park when asked to reflect on his own first term with the south Londoners.

He added: “We knew that it would be a challenging season because of the turnover we had.

“When we have