Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage is at serious risk of losing his job just five months into his tenure, as the club heads into the international break sitting bottom of the Premier League.
Palace’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Sunday marked their fourth straight league defeat, and Sage’s team has won only two of its 10 league games this season.
The club has held internal discussions to determine Sage’s future and who might replace him.
Thomas Frank, the former Tottenham and Brentford manager, is seen as a strong candidate, and ex-Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche also has some backing within the club.
Neither is currently employed, and both could take over right away.
Palace have collected just seven points from 10 league matches and have the league’s worst defensive record, having let in 24 goals.
They also sit 21st in the Europa League currently good enough for a play-off place with just one win from four games.
Should he be sacked, the Frenchman Sage would become the first managerial casualty of the Premier League season.
He was hired on a three-year contract in June after Oliver Glasner left at the end of last season.
“It’s not from the dream to the nightmare,” the 47-year-old said after the defeat by Liverpool.
“I’m not feeling this. I’m just in my job, and I’m focusing on my job and what I have to do to find the solution.
“The results are not at this level, and I know I have to push more on those things, especially in our way of playing, to make that move.”
Sage had earlier guided Lens to a second-place finish in Ligue 1 and their first French Cup victory in the club’s 120-year history.
Yet he has not managed to match Glasner’s achievements at Crystal Palace. Glasner, now in charge of Nottingham Forest, guided Palace to their first FA Cup title and a Europa Conference League win.
Palace have not won in the league since 11 October, a losing streak that began with a 5-0 defeat by their fierce rivals Brighton.
After that game, Sage said he felt “shame” and conceded he was unsure whether he would be given time to reverse Palace’s fortunes.
Still, there was a certain amount of sympathy from some behind the scenes.
Injuries disrupted his plans, and the absence of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr owing to a mix of fitness and personal issues tied to both players’ wish to leave the club did little to help the beginning of his tenure.
But three more league defeats have since followed, with Palace hitting the bar and seeing a goal disallowed in their loss to Liverpool at Selhurst Park.
“We have to be more competitive,” Sage said on Sunday.
“At the moment, we create some things; we expect a lot of things, but we don’t have the results expected.”
After the two-week international break, Palace will play their next Premier League game at Coventry on 21 November.
