Pierre Sage blamed a 15-minute loss of concentration for Crystal Palace’s 2-0 defeat by Newcastle and insisted he remains the right man to lead the south London club. “We missed 15 minutes when we came back from the dressing room,” said the Frenchman. “When you let your opponent take the initiative without pressure, without reply, it’s difficult.”
Palace have conceded 19 goals in eight games and have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, an obvious contrast to last season when Sage’s Lens side had the second-best defensive record in Ligue 1. “When we concede all these goals … you can interpret that through the style of play and also how well we are playing, especially defensively,” Sage said. “My way, my idea, is that the best way to defend is to have the ball”. The problem with that is that only the three promoted sides have had less possession than Palace. “Here every mistake, every situation that is bad for the team will be a goal,” Sage added.
Palace conceded two goal against Beşiktaş on Thursday to the only shots on target they conceded. Newcastle similarly scored with both their shots on target. “We conceded fewer chances with our defending in open play today but it’s not enough,” the Palace manager said. “For the moment the pressure is always the same because I don’t find the solution. Today was not a tactical problem but a mental problem. When we came back from the dressing room we let our opponents have too many things. When you don’t control the ball you give the initiative to the opposition.”
Sage is sure he can improve Palace’s fortunes – they are 17th having lost back-to-back Premier League games, the other being a 5-0 thrashing to rivals Brighton – and said that although he remains in regular contact with the Palace chair, Steve Parish, the issue of his future has never been raised. “Inside, we are just really focused on solutions,” said Sage. “How to be better, how to create the conditions to compete, and we will continue our work. There’s no noise inside, if you want.”
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There was relief for Matthias Jaissle as he oversaw a first Newcastle win in three games. “It was a tough game especially in first half,” said the German. “We couldn’t get ourselves the reward for the intensity of our possession. The first half out of possession was not that bad but we didn’t have our attacking mindset. The second half was much better. Even if you don’t play a fantastic game in possession, keeping a clean sheet is the fundamental of football.”
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