Crystal Palace stand-in boss Osian Roberts has hailed West Ham ahead of the meeting between the two sides this weekend, insisting the Irons are one of the best teams in the Premier League.

The Hammers will be aiming to take the next step in their bid to qualify for the Champions League on Saturday when the two sides go head-to-head.

David Moyes’ side got back to winning ways over the festive period by thumping Watford 4-1 and will be out to repeat that result in the late kick-off on New Year’s Day.

And Roberts, who has been taking charge of the Eagles while Patrick Vieira recovers from COVID, thinks that the Irons have emerged as one of the very best teams in England in recent months.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “West Ham have been on a great run.

“They’re one of the best teams in the league. They are very difficult to play against. They have all the attributes you need to be successful in the league.

“They have one of the best managers, and great staff working with David Moyes as well. We have great respect for them as a team and as a club, and we know it will be a difficult encounter.”

Roberts has also revealed that Palace did everything possible to ensure that Vieira was as present as possible at games even if he wasn’t actually in the stadium.

He added: “The communications strategy has worked really, really well. We have been in full, regular contact with Patrick and making sure that we follow instructions on a daily basis.

“At the club, we’re fortunate that we have a good group of staff that have taken on collectively more responsibility to help us through this situation. Overall it’s been done in a very smooth way, and very well operated.

“There are different platforms that you use. We’ve been using all those platofrms to make sure it’s virtually the same as if he was in the room.”