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Liverpool dispatch Palace to pile pressure on Sage
Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage is in serious danger of losing his job only five months into his reign, with the club bottom of the Premier League going into the international break.
Sunday's 3-1 defeat by Liverpool was Palace's fourth successive league loss, with Sage's side having won just two of their 10 league matches this season.
The club have held internal talks aimed at deciding Sage's future and his potential successor.
Former Tottenham and Brentford manager Thomas Frank is viewed as a strong candidate, while ex-Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche also has some support internally.
Both are out of work and would be available to start immediately.
Palace have taken just seven points from their 10 league matches and have the worst defensive record in the league, having conceded 24 goals.
They are also 21st in the Europa League, currently enough for a play-off spot, with only one win from their four matches.
If he is dismissed, Frenchman Sage could become the first managerial casualty of the Premier League season.
He was appointed on a three-year contract in June after Oliver Glasner departed at the end of last season.
"It's not from the dream to the nightmare," the 47-year-old said after the defeat by Liverpool.
"I'm not feeling this. I'm just in my job, and focusing on my job, and what I have to do to find the solution.
"The results are not at this level, and I know I have to push more on those things, especially in our way of playing, to make that move."
Sage previously led Lens to a second-place finish in Ligue 1 and a first French Cup triumph in their 120-year history.
However, he has been unable to replicate Glasner's success at Palace. Glasner, who now manages Nottingham Forest, led Palace to a first FA Cup title and a Europa Conference League triumph.
Palace are winless in the league since 11 October, with their losing run sparked by a 5-0 loss to fierce rivals Brighton.
After that match, Sage said he felt "shame" and admitted he did not know if he would be given time to turn Palace's fortunes around.
However, there was a degree of sympathy from some behind the scenes.
Injuries were not kind to his plans, while the absence of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr – due to a mixture of fitness and personal issues, related to both players' desire to leave the club – did not help the start of his reign.
However, three more league defeats have followed, with Palace hitting the bar and having a goal ruled out in their loss to Liverpool at Selhurst Park.
"We have to be more competitive," Sage said on Sunday.
"At the moment, we create some things, we expect a lot of things, but we don't have the results expected."
Palace's next Premier League match is at Coventry on 21 November following the two-week international break.
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