Sage on the next stage of building his Palace team

First-team

JUST NOW

Pierre Sage says he is happy with the business that Crystal Palace conducted in the summer transfer market – and he is well underway with building his Eagles team.

Click here for the Manager's latest Team News update
Watch Sage's full broadcast press conference ahead of Fulham here

The Eagles recruited no fewer than 11 new senior Men’s players over the course of the summer, including four on transfer deadline day on Tuesday.

And Sage told the embargoed section of his pre-Fulham press conference: “We took the profiles we needed.

“The most important thing is to put the profiles together, and to build a team able to perform.

"Now, for me, we need to play to show what we are able to do, and to make some decisions – to keep what is good, and to change what needs to be changed.

“With four new players in a week, I think we will not play with these four players quickly, but some of them will play and we will adjust that in time.”

With a deep squad now to choose from moving forwards, Sage added: “I live in a hard world of football and my ideas sometimes are challenged with the capacity of the players, the quality of the opponents, the availability of the players at this moment, and I have to deal with that.

“But like you saw and I want you to see more in our next game, we know how we want to play and we know how we can win, and that's why I push on these ideas and I regulate that with the understanding of the players, the availability of the players at the moment. With time and the learning process I think we will improve.

“I prefer to play with a stable team and, for me ,minutes are not a gift. I don't have to give things to the players, they have to catch it and to show they deserve to play.

“That's why my idea of the beginning can be challenged by the players, and every day they have this opportunity to show that they want to play more, that they need to play more, and my job is to be just, or right, with this.

“That's why I think the more difficult, but the more exciting job for a coach, is to be in line with this – who deserves to play at this moment.

Quote Icons

I think football is always about the fear and the confidence
—Pierre Sage

“I think football is always about the fear and the confidence. If every player is in this balance, he gives his best. If he has too much fear, you cannot see him play. If he has too much confidence, he gives not his best. That's why I need to have [each player] in this scale between the fear and the confidence.”

Palace go to Craven Cottage on Saturday seeking their first win of the new season, and Sage said of the clash with Fulham: “it's an important game.

“At the end, we play for three points. All games are important – the most important is the next one.

“They [Fulham] have the same conditions as us: new manager, zero points, a lot of new players – especially the last day of the transfer window – but we want to win, they want to win.

“I hope that the best [team] of the game will win. We want to beat this team.”

Fulham v Crystal Palace

Saturday, 5th September
15:00 BST
Premier League
Craven Cottage
Live audio commentary on Palace TV+.

Related News

More News