Former France international Jérôme Rothen has critical of Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage and pins the blame solely on him and his lack of experience for the Premier League side’s poor start to the season.
The Eagles saw Oliver Glasner step down from his role at the end of last season. In his last fixture, he helped them win the UEFA Conference League.
Crystal Palace appointed the Frenchman as Glasner’s successor, and he arrived at Selhurst Park after a two-year spell at Lyon and last season at RC Lens.
Sage had guided Lens to a second placed finish and helped them win the Coupe de France in May.
Crystal Palace struggling under Sage
The 47-year-old had an opportunity to manage them in the Champions League. However, he joined the Eagles, who first contacted him last December. The move also saw him fulfil his dream of managing in the Premier League.
In July, he said: “When people say to me, ‘You won’t be playing in the Champions League,’ I reply, ‘No, but I’ll be playing in the Champions League every weekend in the Premier League’.”
Crystal Palace haven’t enjoyed a good run under the current manager’s orders, winning only two of their eight league matches. They are 17th, a point ahead of 18th placed and 19th placed Nottingham Forest and Coventry City respectively.
On Wednesday, the UEFA Conference League winners overcame Fulham in the EFL Cup and face Sunderland in their quarter-final.
Crystal Palace manager’s attitude questioned
That hasn’t stopped Jérôme Rothen from slamming Pierre Sage on RMC Sport, and Ouest-France have relayed his comments.
He insists the manager’s attitude is the ‘main problem’ and explains another reason for Crystal Palace’s struggles.
“He said one thing and then the exact opposite last season. He’d got a bit too big for his boots. Well done on the Coupe de France win with Lens,” he said.
“What’s funny now is that he’s criticising Crystal Palace for not signing players who live up to his expectations. Yet at Lens, it didn’t bother him to say nothing about the signings because he hadn’t been involved. They gave him players. He did a brilliant job of making it all work together internally.”
“But as he needed to take all the credit, because, in my view, he has a false modesty. He said: ‘That year at Lens was magnificent.’ And then a big English club came calling.”
“That’s when he got a bit too big for his boots. If you’re confident in your own abilities, you’d have handled things differently with the Lens management and you’d have agreed to play in the Champions League with Lens. But as he lacked experience and knowledge of top-flight football. The first club made him an offer, and we were told he couldn’t turn down Crystal Palace.”
“But Crystal Palace finished 15th or 16th last year. What we’re seeing is that out of the first 12 matches, he’s won three and is taking one thrashing after another against teams in the bottom half of the table. For the moment, there’s been no reaction from the squad because you’re lacking in so many areas.”
