Crystal Palace’s press suite has benefitted from a luxurious summer refurbishment. Not only have the plastic chairs better suited to a school classroom been replaced by rows of leather seating, there is also a new man in the hotseat. 

Palace have erased any lasting memories of Oliver Glasner – who switched allegiances to their new rivals Nottingham Forest – changing the layout of the room, the screens and brutally ripping the photo of the Austrian celebrating the club’s FA Cup win off the wall.

In his place sat Pierre Sage, the French coach who secured Champions League football at Lens last season and won the French Cup. An intelligent, dignified and sincere communicator.

Sage sat with the media for 40 minutes on Thursday, and the main takeaway was this: he could not be more different to his predecessor. 

There are just two striking similarities between Sage and Glasner – they play the same formation and are fascinated by social science. Sage, after all, lectured on sports mentality for 10 years at Claude Bernard University in Lyon. 

Even in his first Premier League press conference, the differences between Crystal Palace’s new boss Pierre Sage (pictured) and his predecessor Oliver Glasner were evident

Glasner’s dealings with the media were often spiky last season, as he complained whenever he didn’t get his way

At the start of the year, Glasner’s interactions with the press were spiky. He frequently played mind games with the club and its supporters, throwing his toys out of the pram – rightly or wrongly – whenever he did not get his own way. It was box office but draining.

Sage, on the other hand, was refreshing. There was no equivocating, just candid conversation. Despite admitting he is a reserved character, he sat down and exuded a genuine transparency. 

‘I’m quiet, shy, maybe,’ Sage said. ‘But when I speak and I’m hungry, they know.’

Perhaps that is because he is not a product of the football establishment. There was no professional playing career, he had nothing handed to him. Sage was an amateur footballer and coach with an aspiration shared by millions: elite football.

‘Four or five years ago, my dream was to become a member of staff – not a manager – at a pro team… I did it,’ Sage added. ‘But I did it in a way I didn’t consider and I became a head coach. It works well. That’s why I told myself I needed a new dream, and two years ago that dream became coming to the Premier League. Now I am here. I have to build another dream.

‘I’m a flag bearer of the amateur coach and for young coaches to give them hope to become a head coach of a good team, a professional team. You need to work every day. To have an opportunity, you have to be an opportunity yourself.

‘I came from the bottom. Now I’m here, I just want to give my best. I have no pressure. For me, the pressure is giving the players the best session I can give every day. Sometimes there will be a gap between what we did in game and what we chose before the game. But our job is to make the gap as small as we can, improve the way we play and develop our game.’

‘Two years ago my dream became coming to the Premier League,’ said Sage. ‘Now I am here. I have to build another dream’

Sage accepted it may take a while to place his imprint on the team, with staggered arrivals throughout pre-season because 13 Palace players were at the World Cup. But he will adopt Glasner’s style of play to an extent and gradually integrate his ideas to ensure Palace get off to the best start possible. 

That was not laying the groundwork for an excuse, though, just pragmatism. He still expects results from himself and his team from week one, starting at Everton on Saturday. 

‘We have to consider the late arrivals of the players and accept what the players are able to do collectively now,’ Sage added. ‘But we want to implement our principles because that will give us more options to win games. 

‘We will do that session after session, game after game. The most important thing is to play as a team, respect every moment of play and every moment of the game because we want to play as a unit. 

‘I always speak about three pillars. The first is about pressing, we want to recover the ball as soon as we can because we want to play with the ball and be efficient in build-up, creating good possession conditions in the opponents’ half. At the end, we want to attack the depths (high areas) and put pressure, psychological pressure and space pressure on the opponents in games. 

‘We are able to do that in transition and by having the ball in possession. We want to be able to play in a lot of contexts to compete. We have a focus on set-pieces because they’re important to win games and make a difference in some moments.’

Could transfer exits rock the boat? 

As far as Sage is concerned, Adam Wharton, Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz will all remain at Palace beyond the closure of the summer transfer window. 

Manchester City enquired for Wharton but were knocked back, with Palace maintaining he is not for sale. In any case, their current valuation of the midfielder exceeds £100million. 

Meanwhile, Galatasaray had a bid north of £30million turned down for Sarr this week. Palace value the Senegal international significantly above his market value. 

Everton have assessed Munoz, although they are currently exploring moves for other targets at right back.

Besides Romain Esse, who Sage explicitly stated was not a part of his plans, the Palace boss is looking to build his squad, not dismantle it further. Daily Mail Sport understands Palace want to add two centre backs and a midfielder before the window closes. 

Manchester City have shown interest in Palace midfielder Adam Wharton but the club are adamant he’s not for sale

‘We will, we will,’ Sage responded when asked if Palace will keep Sarr. ‘He’s a really important player for the club and for us. He played in the World Cup with Senegal and joined the group three weeks ago. He will be able to play this weekend.’

‘We did it (sold players) and now it’s not the moment to do that,’ he said of Wharton’s future. ‘He is able to play in another club, a big club, here or anywhere in Europe. But one year with us and a new dynamic will be good for him. We need him and that’s why he will stay with us. I hope he continues his improvement.’ 

As for Munoz, Sage was blunt: ‘I hear the noise but he is happy to be with us and we are happy he is here.’

He applied the pressure on the recruitment team, too, urging them to sign a centre back with Premier League experience. Palace are in talks to loan Axel Disasi from Chelsea.

Palace will start the Premier League season without a central centre back after Maxence Lacroix joined Chelsea. They are also yet to secure a replacement for Marc Guehi, who left the club seven months ago. 

Glasner would have used that as a stick to beat the board with. It became his transfer window trademark, lambasting the board for sluggish business. 

Sage, instead, made his point – but with humility. Whether a level-headed approach will work with Palace chairman Steve Parish remains to be seen; Glasner’s rants often sprang him into action.

Deep down, Sage will be annoyed he is starting the season with an incomplete backline but publicly he toed the party line and said he would rather wait for the right option. The sign of a leader without ego. 

Does Matheus Franca have a future at Palace? 

It has been a tough three years for Matheus Franca since arriving at Palace. He signed for £17million as a promising teenager from Brazil and took Wilfried Zaha’s number 11 shirt. 

The expectations were high for a player most knew nothing about and he subsequently faltered at every opportunity. He has played just 14 league games for Palace, spending most of the time injured or out of favour. 

Last season, he went back to Brazil to join Vasco da Gama on loan. He did not set the world alight there either. 

But there has been a glimpse of the player Palace had such high hopes for in pre-season, with Franca scoring four times and looking comfortable playing as a No9 rather than his usual position out wide.

Matheus Franca has had a difficult sime since moving to Palace from Brazil as a teenager, but his performances in pre-season have been encouraging

New manager Sage believes all is not lost on Franca: ‘He had a good pre-season with four goals. It was difficult for him as he began here, that’s why he went on loan to Brazil last year. 

‘He has to adapt to European football because it’s really different to South American football. He’s shown really good things and we will see what we will do with him. We have to build the best context for him to improve because he’s young but he has talent.’

Where does Cheick Doucoure fit in? 

Cheick Doucoure has not played a competitive game in 18 months after rupturing his ACL just a year after recovering from an achilles injury. The midfielder, once touted with a £70million move to Liverpool, has had multiple years shaved off his career. 

Yet after a stable pre-season, he is back at Palace’s disposal and ready to play in the Premier League. It will take time before he is anywhere near his best. There is a chance he will never be the same player he was. Nevertheless, Sage is excited to work with an ‘incredible player’. 

‘He’s able to start,’ said Sage. ‘He didn’t play much during the last two seasons so we have to consider him within this situation. He needs time to come back and we will take our time to let him in a good context, particularly on the psychological side. 

‘When you play, you have to be confident, understand this moment is only a step and in a few moments you will be the player you were two years ago. That’s why we will take our time with him. 

‘He understands that. He walks a lot around the session but he’s really happy to be on the pitch and we are happy to see him on the pitch because he’s an incredible player.’