Pierre Sage has 'broken the golden rule' at Crystal Palace

Pierre Sage is at risk of causing problems in the Crystal Palace dressing room after criticising his players publicly.

Ahead of recent clashes against Fulham and Ipswich Town, the boss has made calls to drop big-name players from his squad as he has not been happy with their displays.

Evann Guessand, Dwight McNeil and Jaydee Canvot have all been subject to the decisions, with Sage explaining that they have not performed to his high standards recently.

However, former Man United assistant manager Mick Brown told Football Insider that Sage risks alienating his players if he continues to criticise their performances in public.

The manager has brought renewed pressure and criticism onto his players, when instead the issues should have been expressed in private and not revealed to the media.

On top of what has been a frustrating start to the season following a 3-2 defeat at home to Ipswich, Sage could do without creating new issues for himself internally.

Is Pierre Sage under pressure at Crystal Palace?

Brown told Football Insider on 13 September that Crystal Palace are backing Sage but must see evidence of improvements amid concerns about their defensive record.

The Eagles have now conceded 11 goals in four Premier League games, the most of any club so far, leading to renewed questions about their results.

With the boss now opting to publicly criticise his players and to leave them out of his matchday squads, there are concerns that a negative atmospehere could develop.

"Pierre Sage has to be careful with the things he's doing at Crystal Palace," Brown told Football Insider.

"I've always said there are two golden rules for any manager; you don't criticise the supporters and you don't criticise your players in public. Sage has broken the golden rule.

"He's bringing pressure and criticism onto his players that otherwise they might not be getting, and that's never a good sign for me.

"Of course he can have high standards, he can demand more of his players, but doing it publicly is the problem here because he should be protecting those players.

"Especially if results aren't going their way, and all of a sudden the blame is being shifted onto the players, that's just not a good sign for me."

What is Crystal Palace's stance on Sage's future?

Despite what has been a frustrating start to the season under their new manager, Crystal Palace remain keen to stick by Sage and are hopeful he can turn things around.

Brown told Football Insider on 8 September that Sage is being backed to continue his work as Crystal Palace manager as he makes progress towards getting his ideas across.

Many pundits and voices in the public eye have tipped Palace to struggle under Sage, but the manager has been backed for success despite those vocal critics.

After what proved to be a turbulent summer at Selhurst Park with players leaving and others missing pre-season after being away at the World Cup, progress will take time.

However, as things stand, the club are prepared to give Sage time to impliment his ideas and get the players performing at their top levels.