As Pierre Sage waited to receive the Coupe de France trophy as the victorious manager of RC Lens last May, he turned to his staff and said: "Do you realise where we are?" Sage had just led the club to a first French Cup title in its history while plotting a course to finish second in Ligue 1, its joint-best league position in over two decades - all in his first season in charge. Having managed only 56 professional games prior to joining the club, he had become the rising star of French football almost overnight. Less than six months on, the 47-year-old may be glad he took that moment to embrace the good times.
Since the irresistible lure of the Premier League tempted him to the Crystal Palace dugout in July, he now finds himself second-favourite to be the next managerial casualty in the top flight at the helm of an Eagles side languishing in the relegation zone with the worst defence in the division. Half a year on from their own historic cup success, Palace have plummeted like a stone and could end this weekend bottom of the Premier League if they are beaten by Liverpool on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Losing their last three league games without scoring and conceding nine times has left Sage's position in inevitable jeopardy before he has even managed 10 league games in England.
But even as the Eagles fell two behind in their latest defeat at Tottenham on Saturday night, there was no concerted outpouring of frustration from the away end towards the head coach. The fans know as well as Sage does, now at least, what he has walked into and there are wider problems which will remain at Selhurst Park, even if Sage exits. He did not hold back after that defeat.
"It's a disaster," he told Sky Sports. Aside from results, that could easily point to the damage caused by the departures of Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix last summer and the replacements struggling to emulate their quality. Or missing Ismaila Sarr, whose absence following his 21-goal haul last season has been harshly felt.
Or the form of Adam Wharton, who has become a shadow of his previous self in three months. Or that Jean-Philippe Mateta had just got himself sent off 13 minutes into his second Premier League start since August - and will now miss the next three games. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Sage may be well advised to avoid walking under any ladders with the level to which his luck seems out.
Though beyond that, there are also pertinent questions to ask regarding Palace's rationale that he was a good fit for their squad in the first place. His first problem may have dropped into his in-tray long before he even took the job. Marc Guehi's sale to Manchester City in mid-January, without a replacement, saw Oliver Glasner's Palace ship 26 goals in their remaining 16 games at a rate even more porous than Palace's defence this season.
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