In an interview with USA Sports, football journalist David Ornstein has delivered a huge update on Pierre Sage’s future at Crystal Palace.

The French manager has been under the cosh after a run of disappointing results, and was previously warned that defeat against Tottenham Hotspur could spell the end of his tenure in South London. The circumstances of that 2-0 defeat, with Jean-Philippe Mateta seeing red after just 13 minutes, has undoubtedly given Sage more time, but the pressure is on if he is to keep his job. 

There is no doubt that Sage has been dealt a tough hand, but there is only so much leeway that can be provided before the results add up to only one sum, the sack. 

So what is the latest on Sage’s short-term future and who could Palace look to bring in should they part ways with the manager. 

In his interview with USA Sports, Ornstein confirmed that the pressure on Pierre Sage is increasing. 

“You can see that in terms of the results, the atmosphere around the club and also the league position. Palace will not want to be looking over their shoulder towards relegation.”

Stories broke in the last week or so that a number of senior players within the club had made it clear that they backed Sage to turn things around, and Ornstein confirmed this story to be true. 

“There’s a lot of good will behind Pierre Sage at Crystal Palace, they do like him as a guy. I know some very senior players who believe things will come good and he will turn the tide. I’m sure that’s not universal, there are some players who are not playing who may be a bit disgruntled, but I’m not aware of him losing the dressing room.”

Whilst the confirmation from one of the country’s most reliable sources of information comes as a relief, there is no doubt that the players are still fighting hard for their manager. Even during the defeat against Spurs on Saturday, where Palace played the majority of the game with ten men, they still dug in and put in a respectable performance. 

Palace have two more games before the international break; a Europa League tie with Hoffenheim this Thursday, and a Premier League game at Selhurst Park against Liverpool on Sunday. 

“[The international break] would in theory give Crystal Palace more time if they are going to make a change. The time is ticking, it’s a huge call for Steve Parish…his American co-owners and Matthew Hobbs.”

One positive that is coming from this situation, for Sage at least, is that the current lack of clear option in terms of replacements is likely causing a delay to any decision. Ornstein, as others have previously, confirmed that Sean Dyche is an option, but that Palace have also spoken to Thomas Frank too. 

Dyche has been labelled by many as the ‘steady option’, but also understood to be a strong step back from the previous ambition shown by the owners when hiring both Glasner and Sage. 

Reverting to type in terms of the managerial appointment and resulting style of play would undoubtedly set the club back. After 14 years in the Premier League, two seasons competing in Europe and multiple trophy lifts, Palace should not be back at square one, in the same position as the newly promoted sides in the league. 

Ornstein confirmed that there is a lack of clarity in terms of who Palace would appoint should they make the call to sack Sage. 

The links to Dyche, Frank and also Vitor Pereira do have legs, but there is no clarity around who Palace would pursue, which is ultimately a huge reason why Sage remains in position. 

There was no clarification or mention to the difficulty of the situation Sage has found himself in, which suggests the club have held back from briefing the press about that, which is unsurprising considering the stories that have come out so far have been wholly negative and focused purely on the results. 

Updates will continue to come in the coming weeks, with two big games fast approaching, and all will be covered on the Palace RoundTable.