Crystal Palace have no immediate plans to replace manager Pierre Sage, but his position is under growing scrutiny after Sunday’s 5-0 defeat by rivals Brighton.
The result leaves Palace 14th in the Premier League, with seven points from their opening seven games. Sage was unable to offer any assurance that he continued to have the club’s full backing after a heavy loss that exposed the scale of the team’s current difficulties.
Asked whether he would be given time to improve Palace’s fortunes, Sage said: “I don’t know.”
He apologised to the supporters after Palace produced what he described as an unacceptable performance in such an important fixture.
“I just want to apologise to the fans because it’s not normal to show this face for this club against this other club, and we are not at the level we expected,” he said.
“I am really sorry for that because I know how important it is for them.
“We didn’t show that today it was really important for us too. We didn’t understand in which context this game was played.”
Palace chairman Steve Parish recently said the club was on “high alert” as it moved from Oliver Glasner’s tenure into a new era under Sage.
That transition has involved a number of new players, while Palace are also preparing for their first Europa League campaign. Despite those challenges, the club currently has no immediate intention of making another managerial change.
Sage’s comments after the defeat underline the pressure surrounding the next stage of that process, with Palace having taken only seven points from seven matches.
