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Pierre Sage Reveals Decision To Leave Evann Guessand Out Of Europa League Squad
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- Pierre Sage Reveals Decision To Leave Evann Guessand Out Of Europa League Squad
(Action Images via REUTERS)
In Pierre Sage's brief time with Crystal Palace , he's proven that he's no soft touch. The Cup winning manager with RC Lens secured his first win for his new club on Saturday at Craven Cottage, as his players begin to settle into what is being asked of them.
There were notable changes to the starting eleven at Fulham , but also eye-catching absences from the substitute bench too. Both Evann Guessand and Dwight McNeil were not included in the Palace squad, just days after the former was omitted from the official Europa League squad.
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That decision saw fans question the future of his loan move in South London, as it appeared that Sage simply doesn't rate him, but the Palace manager has come out and confirmed the real reasoning behind his decision.
Sage on Guessand and McNeil Absences
Before Palace's game against Middlesbrough, Sage was asked about why he'd chosen to leave both players at home in the previous match.
"I was not happy with their performances when they came on the pitch against Manchester City, it's my decision, a sporting decision, and sometimes players have to be shaken to come back and to regain their level."
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Sage has already demonstrated himself to be a rather cutthroat and relentless manager. Making big squad selection choices this early shows that he is set on one thing, doing his best to see the team win. However, with so little time in the season passed, there would of course be space for those players to prove themselves and return to the side.
"It's only one game, now with few games everybody is excited with the situation, they need to take the information to change things in training because they have the opportunity to show every week, and maybe they will come back with us on Tuesday."
This decision came just days after Evann Guessand was left out of Palace's Europa League squad, and Sage was asked about how Guessand reacted and why that decision was made.
"[He] was unhappy, but you know my world sometimes is difficult because I want to give happiness to everybody but I cannot. Everyday I make some choices and eleven are happy and a lot are unhappy but it's like this, the game after it's different and we have to evaluate this kind of thing all season."
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Sage opened up on his lack of love for heavy rotation, and it appears that he's in the same camp as former Palace boss Oliver Glasner on that front.
"I'm not really a fan of the big rotations because every time I did thatI'm unhappy at the end of the game, not just the result but the lack of coordination. At the beginning of the season we have to respect the effort of all players in sessions, it's maybe the opp for them to show and we have to win this game because we are ambitious in this competition too and that's not only about rotation, we want to win this game."
Those responses leave the door open for Guessand to fight for a place in the squad, and if anything the coming weeks will be a test of both his and McNeil's mental fortitude. There will of course be disappointment to miss out, but the reality that Sage finds himself in is that he's now got a strong squad with too many players for each matchday - players are going to miss out.
Cheick Doucouré returns to matchday squad
After what has felt like a lifetime sidelined with injury, Cheick Doucouré finally returned to a matchday squad for Palace. Whilst he didn't feature, Sage touched on the moment he shared the news with the player.
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"You know when I told him he would be with us, his smile was incredible, I think I gave him one million dollars but it was just to come with us. I love this reaction because that's for me the start of how we play football, how we love this game, the only thing he wanted is to come back with the team, this was the first step and he will play a little bit on Tuesday for sure."
Doucouré featuring once again for Palace will be an emotional moment, for a player who has worked so hard and suffered so many setbacks on his journey to full recovery. The ultimate hope is that he can return to some form of the player he was before his injury, but even if he can only manage half of that it will be of benefit to Sage's side.
Sage assesses 'important' win
Registering the first points under his reign, Sage was relieved to win the game, but was also understandably critical of his own side for the mistakes they made during the game.
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"It was important to win, especially in this condition as the game was hard, they had the lead two times and we came back, we had a lot of chances to come back earlier, we had a goal disallowed with offside, and other situations, but they had a lot of opportunities as well, that's why we are happy with the score but we know there are lots of things to move in our performance."
Defensive errors overwhelmed Palace in the first half, but the new boss clearly understands that this will happen and his focus lies closer to how they learn and develop from these.
"Two players made mistakes during the first half but they don't let the team fall and they gave a good second half which is really important, I said that to the players in the dressing room; 'Everybody can make mistakes, I make mistakes everyday, maybe with my choice, maybe with my substitutions, but I will never let the team down, that's why they changed their mindset and gave strength to their teammates.' That was important to keep the result at the end."
Tyrick Mitchell put in a player of the match display, scoring twice and generally dominating the left hand side of the pitch. Sage encouraged Mitchell's performance, and explained why Palace's most reliable player is in such a good space right now.
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"Especially the second was a little funny, but he was in a good space at a good moment and sometimes good things happen to you in this situation. I think he deserves it because he gives his life on the pitch, and I'm really happy for him because he gives a good message to his teammates. Everybody likes him, especially this week because it was his birthday and we congratulate him for his two goals and wish him a happy birthday too!"
Ben Chilwell scored the winning goal on his return to Palace, signing on a permanent deal for free from Strasbourg . The leadership and confidence that Chilwell brings to the dressing room is unquestionable, and he was a key part of the FA Cup winning squad.
"Yeah, you know him, he likes to be here and I'm really happy for him to join us because he's really a good guy with a lot of experience and a good player, it's a good way to begin with us and i just want to congratulate him too because I like his mindset, how he gives confidence to his teammates and he's great in the dressing room, he's going to be really important for our season."
Another insightful interview from Sage, and comments which shed adequate light onto certain topics that have been causing a stir amongst the Palace fanbase.
