Pierre Sage admits his future is out of his hands after Crystal Palace lose to Tottenham

Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage urged the club’s supporters to trust him after his side lost 2-0 to Tottenham. Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored Tottenham’s goals, capitalising on Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early sending-off.

Sage said he understood the team’s situation, but that the decision over whether he remained in his job was not his to make. He insisted he would not give up and would continue to do his best, whether he was given an hour or ten years. Palace are in the relegation zone after winning once in their first nine league matches, and have now suffered their third consecutive defeat in the competition.

Sage described relegation to the second tier as a disaster for any Premier League club. He added that he was not comfortable with his team’s position in the table, but considered it a consequence of what the players had produced on the pitch. He said his focus was on the team and training, and that he wanted to be the first to arrive at the training ground on Monday. He said the team needed to improve its play on the ball and not allow the opposition to take the initiative so often.

Club chairman Steve Parish attended the Tottenham match and had visited the team’s dressing room after their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle the previous week, according to the report.