Pierre Sage has spoken to the media after his side’s 2-0 defeat at Selhurst Park to Newcastle United. The French manager is under mounting pressure as his job security continues to come under threat. 

Whilst it was another disappointing defeat for Palace, the performance was much improved in many parts, with Palace limiting Newcastle to just two shots on target in the entire game. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Newcastle scored both of those shots. 

That was the same case in Istanbul, and whilst there were significant improvements in each performance, Palace were unable to get over the line in terms of the full time result. 

Ultimately, if Palace continue their trend of being unable to play well for an entire game, Sage will likely lose his job. But what did the French manager make of the defeat and how does he see the pressure on his job?

Once again there was a huge sense of frustration from Palace fans following the defeat, because not only did Palace dominate for large parts of the game, they came close on multiple occasions to opening the scoring too. 

The story of Palace’s season so far has been centered around the side’s inability to maintain performance level throughout an entire game. They’ve been getting closer to doing so, but in this game, it was another brief spell where the side collapsed mentally that they were punished for. 

“I think we missed fifteen minutes in this game, especially when we came back from the dressing room after half time, and during these fifteen minutes there was a lack of everything. That's why our opponent took the opportunities they had, because they scored two goals and had one more offside.”

Newcastle didn’t have to do much at all to score, netting their only two shots on target of the game, as well as their third had it not been for the offside flag. 

That shows immense efficiency from the Toon, but Sage was keen to look towards where his side can improve in order to prevent this trend from continuing. 

“When you let your opponent hold the initiative without aggression, without reply, it’s difficult because in the first half we were in our game plan. We create the conditions to have chances and we prevent all they can do offensively, it was good, and after the second goal we conceded, the freshness and the play came back, the energy was here and the players were able to try to come back but it was too difficult because with 2-0 the step is really high.”

Whilst the disappointment has often come through in his interviews, Sage has always maintained a strong analytical stance in his post-match conversations too, and was immediately keen to address where Palace got things wrong against Newcastle. 

“I think we concede too many chances because when you don’t master the ball, you don’t control the play, you give the initiative to the opponent. If we have possession and we concede in transition the problem is different and the solution is different.”

Palace struggled in spells in this game, and there were multiple five minute periods where Newcastle had 80% or more of the ball. 

“I think we have a lack of mastery with the ball as a team and during the first half we create our chances in transition, but we don’t have possession. In the second half it was different because when they scored their second, they played lower and they let us have the initiative and in this situation we don’t have too many situations to concede, that’s why I think it’s the best way [to defend with possession].”

There does seem to be a sense of frustration from Sage that in the moment Palace finds themselves in, perfection is the only option in terms of getting results. 

“In our situation, every little mistake, every fifteen minute period or less or more that we are not at our standards, we pay. My job is to come back to the good things, to come back to the efficiency. We try to do that everyday, we have that in mind and we keep always the same goals.”

In France with RC Lens, Sage led his side to a second placed Ligue Un finish, and registered the second best defensive record in the league too. When asked about the transition between French and English football, and how brutal the Premier League can be. 

“When we concede all of these goals we can interpret that with the style of play, with our way of playing especially defensively, but it’s difficult to compare these two things because it’s two different leagues.”

“I spoke to the coach of Newcastle and we spoke about these things in this league especially, and here, every mistake, every bad situation for the team could be a goal.”

There has been stark improvement in the way that Sage’s players have implemented the system. There were slight tweaks to the defensive setup out of possession, which certainly made a positive impact, as the number of chances Palace were conceding decreased massively. 

Many fans have questioned the mentality of the players at times. Away at Brighton the first ten minutes can only be described as a complete collapse. The same thing happened at the start of the second half. 

“I think today was not a tactical problem, it was only a mental problem because when we came back from the dressing room we left too many things to our opponent.” 

If things continue as they are in terms of tactical progression, Palace and Sage should be absolutely fine. The brief lapses in concentration need to be cut out, and the players need to ensure they are performing at their best to protect their manager.