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Crystal Palace found difficulty in reaching Patrick Vieira on Thursday - perhaps he knew what was coming.
Just hours after the defeat to Brighton on Wednesday night, the initial silence from Vieira was deafening. Truth be told it was rather irritating, too.
The original plan was for Vieira to be in charge for Arsenal on Sunday before discussing his future in the international break.
Those talks would likely have led to his dismissal anyway. People in positions of power at Selhurst Park have been hugely disappointed with how the team have performed in recent weeks.
No wins in 2023 - a run of 12 games - is sacking form at any club.
Patrick Vieira was dismissed from his role as Crystal Palace manager on Friday morning
The former midfielder felt he wasn't backed by the club - who have been irked by the manager's lack of willingness to communicate
But it wasn’t like Palace had totally made up their mind after the loss at the Amex. Chairman Steve Parish wanted an opportunity to gauge where Vieira’s head was at.
He wanted to sense if the fire was still burning. Yet there is understood to have been a difficulty in actually communicating with Vieira on Thursday as the club sought to discuss a way forward.
It wasn’t until Friday morning - at around 7am - that matters came to a head during a phone call as Vieira made his way to the training ground.
As you can imagine - a full and frank discussion ensued.
Vieira believes he’s not been supported, in more ways than just the transfer market.
In contrast, Palace have been irked by what they view as a lack of willingness to communicate from Vieira in recent weeks.
Issues after the 1-1 draw at Brentford, where Palace conceded a late equaliser, in February and then the 1-0 loss at Aston Villa earlier this month served to compound the growing disconnect between manager and boardroom.
Vieira is believed to be disappointed that the club have not been more forthcoming with regards to the club offering him a new contract. His deal expired at the end of next season.
It has been indicated to Sportsmail that the club were preparing to open talks over a deal after the World Cup.
But Palace’s form since then means those discussions were impossible. For weeks there has been deep concerns about Vieira’s waning morale.
Palace chairman Steve Parish was keen to gauge whether Vieira was still mentally committed
The club’s dreadful form hit him hard. He’s been low - the loss against arch rivals Brighton arrived as another crushing blow to his mood.
Vieira is a deep-thinker, Palace
