Pierre Sage says Crystal Palace must show both tactical discipline and a strong mentality when Newcastle United visit Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon (14:00 GMT).
The Eagles responded to two difficult away defeats with an impressive performance against Beşiktaş in Istanbul on Thursday evening – a 2-2 draw in which they largely controlled matters, and were only denied victory by the efficient finishing of their hosts.
They will now go in search of a second consecutive home Premier League win at Selhurst Park against a Newcastle team whose form has also been inconsistent of late, winning just one of their last five in the league.
Fight from the beginning
—Pierre Sage
Speaking in a pre-match interview, recorded ahead of Palace’s midweek trip to Turkey, Sage said of Newcastle: “To be honest, I think it's a similar team to Brighton: a lot of energy, young players, big intensity in all the games.
“I saw them in Coventry [a 4-1 defeat for the Magpies] and their shape was really clear. That's why we have to understand that we have to be in good shape this day. That's the first step.
“But the good shape is not enough. We need to give our best level at the moment. We fight from the beginning.
"And after that, maybe we have the place to attack. We have the place to play. We have the place to enjoy on the pitch.
“First of all, we have to show them that we are here and that it's difficult for them to play against us.
“We are at home. At home, you know, it's impossible for anybody to come into your home and to take a seat on the sofa, take a drink from the fridge… You cannot do this kind of thing when you are respectful with your family, with all the people who live in this house.
“Our house has to be really, really difficult to attack.”
Sage also spoke of the importance of combining tactics with mental fortitude – which Palace did impressively in the febrile atmosphere of Beşiktaş Park on Thursday night, and will hope to do so again on Sunday.
He commented: “It’s not one or the other. It's not the mentality or the play. It's all together.
“You know, football is a global thing. You can play smart if you want, but if you play without energy, without mentality, you are not competitive. In another way, if you are only with energy without organisation, you are really open for your opponent.
“That's why we need to be better at each level tactically, for sure, because we’ve made a lot of mistakes, especially defensively. We have to be at the highest level possible in mentality because the situation has that and we need that for the moment.
“That's why both are important. We have to clearly perform in these two kinds of things.”