Patrick Vieira sacks ex-love star from Crystal Palace for 'play for the badge' rant
Patrick Vieira showed his ruthless side by sacking coach Shaun Derry for 'overstepping his role' after he delivered fiery passion-fuelled rollockings to Crystal Palace players.
The Eagles have endured an inconsistent run of results this season, with one defeat - a 3-0 loss at relegation battlers Everton in October - causing Derry to lose his cool. The former Leeds and Queens Park Rangers midfielder berated Palace's players in the dressing room after the game, much to Vieira's displeasure when he walked in to witness Derry in full flow.
While the words from Derry - who represented Palace in two separate spells as a player - came from a good place, his demands for the Eagles' squad to 'play for the badge' did not sit in line with Vieira's more relaxed style.
The scenario at Goodison Park was just one of a number of times Derry took matters into his own hands by giving the Palace stars a dressing down. That is said to have annoyed disciplinarian Vieira, who felt Derry had stepped outside of his duties and eventually resulted in the Palace boss sacking the coach due to their conflicting styles.
As reported by The Athletic, Vieira believes Derry's approach is not the best way to get a reaction from players, instead opting for a more measured response to get his message across.
Derry has held managerial roles at Notts County and Cambridge United previously, though addressing the players was, and is, the role of Vieira and his No.2 Osian Roberts.
Vieira confirmed Derry's axe was his call during a press conference on Friday. "This is the decision that I made," Vieira said. "I can confirm he is not a part of the staff.
"I don't want to go into details but, of course, he was an important figure, he played (for the club), he was the captain here. I don't want to go into details. He's been good to this club."
Derry was approached by The Athletic but declined to comment.
He leaves Palace with the club firmly in mid-table (12th), seven points clear of the relegation zone with six wins and six draws from their 20 fixtures so far this term ahead of a clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
