Pierre Sage has made it clear that he is ready to embrace the pressure that comes with managing Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
As he pointed out in his first interview after being appointed, the pressure is a positive one because winning only makes you want to win more. That mindset has carried into his early days at the club.
Sage sees Palace challenge as an opportunity
Sage believes taking charge of Crystal Palace is a major challenge, but one that should be viewed as an opportunity to achieve something special.
“It’s a big challenge [coming to Palace],” said Sage on the official Palace site. “But if we want to achieve incredible things, we have to consider this challenge as an opportunity.”
His route into management has been far from straightforward. Sage explained that becoming a coach in France was difficult because he was not a professional footballer.
He earned his ‘A’ licence at just 25, becoming one of the youngest at the time. However, he had to look outside France for opportunities, spending time in Spain, Switzerland and Portugal.
According to Sage, those experiences helped him build contacts and knowledge across Europe before eventually working for one of France’s biggest professional clubs.
He believes that journey gave him the confidence to push for greater opportunities.
“This was an incredible thing and has given me belief. People would have said this is more or less impossible, but it shows everything is possible in football.”
Sage now wants to focus on delivering the best for Crystal Palace every day.
“I came from the bottom and now I’m here. I just want to give my best. The pressure is on giving the players the best possible session I can give, every day.”
