Sage brings three staff to Palace

Pierre Sage has confirmed his backroom staff at Crystal Palace, with three coaches arriving and two members of Oliver Glasner's regime staying on.

Sage, 47, has signed a three-year contract at Selhurst Park to 2029. He arrives after an impressive first season at RC Lens, where he won the Coupe de France and was named Ligue 1 Manager of the Year. He replaces Glasner, who recently left for Nottingham Forest.

Joining Sage are:

• Jamal Alioui (Assistant): Held the same role under Sage at Lyon and followed him to Lens. A former Morocco international right-back who captained his country at the 2004 Olympics, he has also coached Morocco’s U20s and several French clubs, including Nancy and FC Versailles.
• Damien Della Santa (Player Development & Set Piece Coach): Worked as Assistant under Sage at Lyon as well as at OGC Nice. Became a coach at 14 and maintains an ongoing role with the French Football Federation as a coach educator and researcher.
• Sandy Guichard (Fitness Coach): Joins after seven years in the same role at Monaco, with previous spells at Sion, Sochaux, Bordeaux, Dijon, Besançon and Trabzonspor, and past experience with the Algerian national team.

Paddy McCarthy (Assistant) and Andy Quy (Goalkeeper Coach) are the two survivors from Glasner’s staff.

McCarthy was a Palace player for eight seasons before moving into coaching and has been at the club for 18 years. He was part of the staff that delivered the Eagles’ first-ever trophy treble — the 2024/25 FA Cup, the 2025 FA Community Shield and the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League. He also assists the Republic of Ireland national team.

Quy, a former Premier League goalkeeper, joined Palace in September 2025 after 12 years as Stoke City’s Goalkeeping Coach and helped the club win its first European trophy in Leipzig in May.

The rest of Glasner’s staff followed him to Forest — Emanuel Pogatetz (Assistant), Michael Angerschmid (Assistant), Michael Berktold (Assistant), James Holland (Transition Coach) and Michael Gspurning (Goalkeeping Coach) are all confirmed at the City Ground.

Ronald Brunmayr, another of Glasner’s long-serving assistants at Palace, has not been confirmed as part of that group, and his status remains unclear.

TGG MEMBERS: Crystal Palace staff profiles