Crystal Palace have sacked Pierre Sage after 16 games in charge, with Thomas Frank in advanced talks to become their new manager.
Sage, appointed in mid-June to replace Oliver Glasner, was dismissed after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by Liverpool left Palace bottom of the Premier League. The decision to sack him was made on Sunday evening, but negotiations over compensation for the rest of his three-year contract delayed his exit.
Frank has emerged as the main candidate to succeed Sage. He has been out of work since his dismissal by Spurs in February, spoke to Palace in the summer and is keen on a new challenge after a successful spell at Brentford. It is hoped he will take charge before next Saturday’s trip to Coventry. Alternatives include the former Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche, who also has backers at Palace, and Vítor Pereira, another former Forest manager.
Palace confirmed that Sage’s backroom staff would also depart. In a statement, the club thanked Sage and his staff for their efforts in south London and said an update on the process of appointing a new manager would be provided in due course.
Sage’s exit follows a damaging run. Sunday’s defeat was Palace’s fifth in an eight-match sequence that also included a 5-0 hammering by arch-rivals Brighton; their only win in that stretch came at Fulham in the Carabao Cup, and they have lost four league fixtures in a row. Palace have seven points from 10 league games, with their victories coming against Fulham and Nottingham Forest, and they have conceded the most goals in the division, 24. They sit 21st in the 36-team Europa League table.
Sage signed a three-year contract after leaving Lens, where he won the Coupe de France and qualified for the Champions League in his final season. He is now the favourite to take over at his former club after Lens sacked Yannick Cahuzac on Tuesday. Lens owner and president Joseph Oughourlian has remained in close contact with Sage and is understood to have held talks about a return, a move that could allow Palace to avoid paying some compensation. Palace spent more than £4m to buy Sage out of his contract at Lens in the summer.
There were also issues beyond results. Palace lost their two main central defenders this year, with Marc Guéhi moving to Manchester City in January and Maxence Lacroix joining Chelsea in the summer. Axel Disasi and the teenager Honest Ahanor were signed on loan as replacements, and Palace did not land one of Sage’s top targets, winger Malick Fofana. Sage is understood to have fallen out with the board over their failure to sign what he regarded as adequate replacements for Guéhi and Lacroix. Palace chair Steve Parish was unhappy with Sage’s treatment of centre-back Jaydee Canvot after the France Under-21 international was dropped from the squad for September’s home defeat by Ipswich, and expressed displeasure after Adam Wharton was substituted in that match.