Patrick Vieira wants more ambition from Crystal Palace to build on strong year

Patrick Vieira knows Crystal Palace will not spend crazy money this summer but believes the club are ready to be more ambitious.

The Eagles entertain Manchester United on the final day knowing a victory will give them a chance of a top-half finish in the Premier League.

It was a different story at the beginning of the campaign with talk Palace, after they let a number of senior players leave and saw veteran boss Roy Hodgson move on last summer, were among the favourites to be relegated, but Vieira has kept them comfortably above the bottom three.

Survival has rarely been mentioned by the former Arsenal captain, who has enjoyed a fine first season as a manager in England.

He believes the Selhurst Park club can aim high despite being aware chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman will not hand over a huge war chest.

Vieira said: “It is not about going and spending crazy money because that will not guarantee you success.

“What will guarantee you success is to have a clear idea and clear direction about what you want to achieve in the next couple of years and step by step building that foundation to allow you to grow as a team and to grow higher but step by step.

“What is good here is you have the chairman who has been here for years now and is a real Palace person and you have Dougie who has been here for years. I think that kind of stability helps to build a team.

“I think it is a bit of everything. It is culture, it is stability and you will need investment. All those ingredients will help to build something successful.”

Next season will be Palace’s 10th consecutive campaign in the Premier League, their longest ever run in the top flight.

Vieira feels the club can now strive for more than beating