Pierre Sage insists there is "no noise" inside Crystal Palace about his future
Pierre Sage insists there is 'no noise' about his future inside Crystal Palace, despite boos ringing around Selhurst Park after a 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle United.
The loss was Palace's fifth in eight Premier League games and leaves them in the bottom four, a point above the relegation zone. The Eagles have now gone four games without a win.
Home fans had turned up hoping for a response after last weekend's 5-0 humiliation at rivals Brighton.
Instead, Palace held firm in the first half before a chaotic opening 15 minutes after the break, in which they conceded three times and were saved once by an offside decision. William Osula and Harvey Barnes scored the goals that counted.
Boos greeted Sage's side at full-time from the fans that had remained in Selhurst Park. The former Lens manager's future appears uncertain, just four months into a three-year contract.
He arrived as Ligue 1 manager of the year after leading Lens to second place and a French Cup, replacing Oliver Glasner, who won an FA Cup, a European trophy and the Community Shield in two years at the club.
Replacing the man who ended Palace's long wait for silverware success was never likely to be easy, but Sage's stuttering start has ramped up the pressure.
Asked about his future in his post-match media conference, Sage played down the suggestion that his position is in doubt.
"There is no noise inside the club," Sage said.
"The boos are normal because we don't have the result. The noise is the consequence of the result of the team, and at the moment we don't have what we expect."
"People lose patience when you lose"
Sage accepted the reaction from the stands was to be expected after another afternoon without a win.
"It's normal that people lose patience when you lose, because everybody wants to win. Today it was not the case. Inside, we are just really focused on solutions. How to be better, how to create the conditions to compete, and we will continue our work, and there's no noise inside."
