Crystal Palace eyeing move for 4-2-3-1 Sage replacement

Crystal Palace have identified an “unbelievable” manager as a leading candidate to replace Pierre Sage, following the 5-0 defeat at Brighton on Sunday.

Oliver Glasner set a very high bar for Sage, after lifting three trophies with Palace over the previous two seasons, namely the FA Cup, Community Shield and Europa Conference League, and the Frenchman has thus far struggled to live up to expectations.

The Eagles have won one and lost one of their opening two Europa League games, and their Premier League form is particularly concerning, having only managed to take seven points from their first seven matches.

REUTERS/David Klein

Sage took accountability for the heavy defeat at the American Express Stadium, saying: “It’s my fault because I am the coach, I gave the motivation. I prepare the situations. We played so bad it’s my fault.

“It’s difficult to summarise because there are a lot of negative points. We started really bad. It’s completely not normal to concede three goals in this kind of game after nine minutes. I prepare the team, that is why I am responsible of what’s happened on the pitch. I have a lot of work to do because I have to change this kind of thing.”

However, losing a derby game by such a large margin is always going to cause issues, with club chiefs concerned about the style of play, and there have been suggestions the former Lens boss could be the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.

Thomas Frank emerges as leading candidate for Crystal Palace job

With Sage under increasing pressure, Thomas Frank has now emerged as a leading candidate for the Crystal Palace job, according to a report from Football Insider, which also names Sean Dyche and Rob Edwards among the contenders for the role.

Frank, who prefers to use a 4-2-3-1 system, has been out of work since being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in February, and the north Londoners went on to avoid relegation by just two points.

However, the Dane did a much better job at Brentford, consolidating the Bees as a Premier League club after guiding them to promotion, and Everton boss David Moyes was left particularly impressed by the work he did at the Gtech Community Stadium.