Patrick Vieira makes brilliant Newcastle United admission that fans will love

Patrick Vieira admits St James’ Park is one of his favourite grounds to visit - as he tipped Newcastle United to compete for the European spots this season.

Vieira’s Crystal Palace departed Tyneside with a point on Saturday evening after VAR controversially ruled out a Magpies opener moments after half-time.

The Frenchman, whilst making him unpopular with the Geordie public for agreeing with the decision to disallow the goal, spoke highly of Newcastle and St James’ Park.

“This is a difficult place to come with a big atmosphere,” Vieira said. “We needed to defend well as a team and we did it well. We deserved our point.

“This is one of my favourite grounds, to be honest with you. The atmosphere is one of the best in the country and that’s why they are so strong at home.

“There is passion and love, I believe teams that come here will find it really tough.”

Vieria went on to predict that Newcastle will challenge the European places this season.

The former Arsenal man said: “You look at what they spend, the ambition, it’s going to be challenging for any other teams coming to get something.

“They are a really strong side and I think they are one of the teams you can count on playing European football.

He added: “When you look at the quality they have, their investment and of course, they have a quality manager. I believe that they will be one of the teams that will be close to Europe.”