Pierre Sage has urged Crystal Palace supporters to trust him, but admitted his future is not in his hands after the Eagles fell to a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Goals from Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke helped Spurs capitalise on an early red card for Jean-Philippe Mateta as Palace suffered a third successive league defeat.
Sage defiant despite relegation fears
Palace have won only one of their opening nine league games and are mired in the relegation zone. Asked whether he was aware of the club's league position, Sage struck a defiant tone while acknowledging that keeping his job was not his decision to make.
"I am really aware of the situation," Sage said. "I don't like this situation. [But] you can trust in me, I will never give up. I want to be the first on the pitch on Monday. I have the rage to train more. It's not me to decide this thing [my future]. If I have one hour, I will give my best for one hour. If I have ten years, I will give my best for ten years."
Chairman's rare dressing room visit
Steve Parish was in attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Standard Sport understands he also made a rare appearance in the home dressing room to speak to Sage after last weekend's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle.
Sage acknowledged that relegation to the Championship would be a disaster for the club.
"Yes, [relegation], it's a disaster for every club in the Premier League and especially that I have to speak about my club. You know I'm not comfortable with the situation in the table, but it's a consequence of what we did bad on the pitch," the Frenchman continued.
"My only action is on the team and on the pitch. That is why I can speak about the situation of the club in the table, of my situation, because it's a consequence to of this, but my only way to change a thing is to go on the pitch. That is why I talk to the players and I want to be the first on the pitch on Monday. They can trust in me."
Manager vows to fight on
Sage insisted he will not give up and will focus on improving the team's performances in training.
"I will never give up. I will do the best session I can do on Monday because now I have the rage to train more because the game I saw was not in line with my conviction," he said.
"I don't like when we let the initiative too much to the opponent. I was really impressed by what I see of the other team, and I like this kind of play. I know we are not the same team, but we are able to do things with the ball, and we have to improve that."
