Sage on Doucouré, De Zerbi, and the support from the fans
Pierre Sage thanked the Crystal Palace fans for their vocal backing during the Carabao Cup victory at Fulham on Wednesday night, as the Manager looked ahead to Saturday night's game at Tottenham.
Having enjoyed another success at Craven Cottage, a fifth win on the spin at Fulham, Palace now head to another happy hunting ground from recent seasons.
The Eagles are chasing a third straight win at the home of Spurs, when they face Roberto De Zerbi's team on Saturday evening (17:30 GMT).
Here are some of the key lines from Sage's pre-Tottenham press conference at Copers Cope.
On hearing the support from the fans at Fulham;
I smile because yesterday [during the game] I didn’t understand what they said. When I read the tweets afterwards I understand, but it was after the game. I thought I heard my name, but I was not sure!
I want to thank them. But I prefer they are with the team than me.
I’m the Manager, but I’m not the most important part of the team.
But it’s a positive for me for sure. I hope they sing, because they like who I am, and how I represent the club and the team.
And I think they understood that we are in the project. We need time to work and to improve with the team.
On what he liked from the Fulham win;
That’s always a good sign [to win], but we changed 10 players. The opponent [Tottenham] will be different. It’s difficult to guarantee the same performance.
The idea is here, the mindset is here and now we want to show what we can do as a group.
A good sign yesterday was that we did it in the cup, but against a team from the Premier League.
On having the next two league games against in-form Tottenham and Liverpool;
Every point smells good. If we take points against Liverpool, Tottenham or the other teams, it’s the same for us at the end.
We are not in a position to choose one game more than the other.
That’s why we made some rotation yesterday, we wanted to win on Wednesday, but we also wanted to be fresh for Saturday too.
For the moment the strategy is good, but we have to confirm that we can reach the goal we set at the beginning of the week.
He was proud to wear the badge and the jersey
—Pierre Sage
On facing Roberto De Zerbi;
He needs time. His ideas and that way of playing are always good. That's why I’m not worried about him.
I have to find the solutions on Saturday – that is the most important thing for me.
On the best moment from Fulham win;
I will be honest. The moment when Cheick Doucouré came with the fans at the end [to celebrate].
For me it was the best moment. You see a guy who has had a bad two years... he came back on the pitch and just enjoyed playing for the team.
He was proud to wear the badge and the jersey. To share this moment with the fans, was the most important thing for me from yesterday.
On Dean Henderson's return to the team;
There's more solutions for us [with players coming back]. Maybe there's more confidence because when you know the player he is, the guy he is, the captain he is, maybe there's some positive effects on his teammates.
It's really important to see him back. And it's the same for the other players like JP [Mateta] or Ismaïla Sarr when he will come back. These players played a lot last year.
They have good performances from a long time ago now. It's always better for us to have them because we need them.
Match Details
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
- Saturday, 31st October
- 17:30 GMT
- Premier League
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+