Pierre Sage has openly admitted his position as Crystal Palace head coach is in grave danger following an embarrassing derby capitulation against fierce rivals Brighton.

​The Eagles endured a disastrous afternoon on the south coast, finding themselves three goals down within the opening ten minutes at the Amex Stadium. Brighton added a fourth shortly after the interval, before Jack Hinshelwood put the finishing touch on the rout late on. The final whistle marked Brighton’s most emphatic league triumph over Palace in seven decades, leaving the traveling fans furious and plunging the club into deep crisis.

​While Brighton supporters celebrated a historic afternoon, Palace were left to confront an increasingly grim Premier League reality. With seven games played this season, the club has gathered a meager seven points, leaving them hovering just two points clear of the relegation places.

​The immediate domestic calendar offers no relief. Palace face an unforgiving run of fixtures, with daunting clashes against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool scheduled over the coming weeks. Such a brutal sequence could easily see the south London side dragged into the drop zone if their current trajectory continues.

​When asked directly whether he will be given the time to steer Palace out of this alarming tailspin, Sage cut a forlorn figure. The French manager responded with an ominous three-word admission: “I don’t know.”

​Sage pulled no punches regarding the squad’s collapse, offering a heartfelt apology to the fanbase and refusing to shield himself behind excuses.

​”We are not at the level we expected, and I am really sorry for that,” Sage said. “I just want to apologize to the fans because it is not normal to show this face. I cannot blame anybody because we did not do the job in a good way. I am responsible for this team, and when the team plays as it did today, it is not normal. It is my fault. I understand them.”

​The former Lens tactician has found some encouragement in Palace’s continental campaign. The Eagles earned a promising Europa League victory over Lech Poznan in their tournament opener and produced a resolute performance during their midweek fixture against Lyon. Their European duties continue this week with a demanding visit to Istanbul to face Besiktas.

​Even so, Sage made it clear that domestic accountability begins in the mirror. He stressed the urgent need to overhaul match preparation and inject genuine competitive drive before kick-off.

​”The first work to do is on me,” he explained when previewing the Besiktas fixture. “I am responsible for what happened on the pitch, and I have a lot of work to do because I have to change this kind of thing. It is maybe in the preparation, in the way we give them the motivation to start the game just before in the locker room in the warm-up. We have to analyze that because it is not normal.”

​With time ticking away and patience wearing thin in the boardroom, Sage must produce an instant revival in Turkey to prevent his tenure from reaching a premature end.