Palace can survive in Premiership, says Vaesen
Palace produced a stunning end-of-season run of form under manager Iain Dowie and edged past West Ham in the First Division play-off final at the Millennium Stadium courtesy of Neil Shipperley's second-half match winner.
Cardiff has been a happy hunting ground for Vaesen, who won promotion there with Birmingham two years ago, and the on-loan goalkeeper reckons Palace share the same qualities which made Steve Bruce's side a hit in the top flight.
Vaesen said: "This team has a great spirit and belief and they work hard. I see the same comparisons with Birmingham.
"The chairman has told the gaffer there will be funds available and he will need that to make the squad bigger. There is a big gap.
"The ones who come up will always struggle but if we bring some experienced players in it can go well.
"It's as good a feeling for me as it was then with Birmingham. This is why you are a footballer. We deserved to do it. Three months ago we were nowhere in the league but we deserved to make the play-offs because of the run we put in."
Vaesen agreed a two-year extension to stay at Birmingham last week, but has not ruled out making his loan move to Palace permanent.
The 34-year-old Belgian has been outstanding in Palace's revival, and made two saves in the penalty shoot-out against Sunderland which booked the Eagles a trip to Wales.
It was also his save in the shoot-out against Norwich in 2002 which helped Birmingham reach the top flight, but he has since dropped behind Maik Taylor in the pecking order at St Andrews.
Vaesen said: "Maik Taylor has come in and done well this year. But I'm still a Birmingham player and I'm happy with that and proud of that. We'll see what happens."
Vaesen missed his father's retirement party in Belgium to play in the final, and was instrumental in the victory, stopping Bobby Zamora one-on-one in the first-half and saving acrobatically from Steve Lomas after the break.
But he said a key tool in the Palace armoury had been a pre-match speech from fitness coach John Harbin about an Eagles fan coping with disability which the club had printed on their T-shirts. Harbin and Dowie are well-known for their motivational techniques, and Vaesen insisted this one worked a charm.
He said: "Before games John always tells us a story of some kind to motivate us. This one was about a BBC journalist whose brother was a handicapped boy, a Palace supporter. It was a very touching story.
"The journalist made a documentary called One More Chance about disabled kids who don't get a real chance in society. It was very touching and great motivation."
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