Crystal Palace lost 2-0 to Newcastle United and have taken just 7 points from their first 8 league games. After the defeat, Pierre Sage said he believes he still has the backing of those running Crystal Palace.
Asked about support from the club
Asked whether he feels he has the support of those running the club, Sage replied: "I think, yeah. The question is, do you think? And my reply is, yes, I think."
Sage also said decisions about his position are for the chairman and the owners. He said: "After that, this kind of decision of what we are talking about is to the chairman, to the owners, this kind of person."
His response to the crowd
Sage said sections of the support booed Crystal Palace after the defeat.
He said: "It’s normal that a person loses patience when you lose, because everybody wants to win, and us first."
He added: "We want to win, we do the job to win, but today it was not the case, in this period it was not the case."
What he says his focus is
Sage said: "I don’t have to convince the people around the club, I just have to convince the players to do their best and to compete and to continue their improvement."
He also said: "For me, the noise around the team, the noise around the club, it’s only noise."
His view of the Newcastle United defeat
Reflecting on the defeat, Sage said Crystal Palace missed 15 minutes against Newcastle United and that it was sufficient for the opponent to win.
He said: "A game of football is imperfect, because there’s a lot of mistakes."
He added: "Every player makes mistakes, every coach makes decisions that are not in line with what we need these days."
He said: "And it’s always a frustration to not achieve the perfect things."
He added: "In our period, we have to be perfect to win, and today we missed 15 minutes."
He said: "In my position, I just have to create the conditions to be close to perfection with the team, in concentration, in play, in the way of defending, in the way of attacking."
He added: "But today we missed only 15 minutes, but it’s sufficient for our opponent to win."