The Crystal Palace coaching staff boasts a host of experts beside manager Pierre Sage in the dugout at Selhurst Park. So, who makes up the backroom team?
Manager: Pierre Sage
Crystal Palace confirmed the appointment of Pierre Sage as their new manager in June 2026, following the departure of Oliver Glasner.
The Frenchman has a track record of overachieving, guiding Lyon to sixth in 2024/25 despite taking over when they were bottom of Ligue 1 in November 2023, also winning the Coupe de France at RC Lens for the first time.
Crystal Palace Coaching Staff
Assistant Coach: Paddy McCarthy
Paddy McCarthy joined the Crystal Palace first-team coaching staff in March 2023 to be Hodgson’s assistant manager, staying on as part of Glasner’s setup and now Sage’s staff.
The Eagles promoted the Dublin native into their senior set-up as a reward for his work with Crystal Palace’s academy. McCarthy first moved into coaching with the club’s Under-18s.
Crystal Palace first awarded McCarthy a position as a youth coach before naming him as their U21s head coach in 2021.
The UEFA A licence holder also spent a game in charge of the Eagles’ first-team following Vieira’s departure. He stepped in to oversee their 4-1 loss away to Arsenal in March 2023.
His move into the Selhurst Park dugout also followed a spell on the Selhurst Park pitch for McCarthy.
Crystal Palace signed the defender from Charlton Athletic in 2008 after early spells with Manchester City and Leicester City. McCarthy would retire with the Eagles in 2016 after several loan moves.
Goalkeeping Coach: Andy Quy
Andy Quy moved into coaching in 2006 after spells with Derby, Tottenham, Stevenage, Kettering Town and Hereford, before spending over 12 years as Stoke Goalkeeping Coach – he was present for eight seasons in the Premier League and their one campaign in the UEFA Europa League.
Quy is a UEFA A Goalkeeper Licence holder, having also also coached at Huddersfield and in Major League Soccer with Charlotte FC. He later joined Crystal Palace in September 2025.
Assistant Manager: Jamal Alioui
The 44-year-old Alioui will continue his role as Sage’s right hand man in SE25, having also been instilled in that post at Lyon and RC Lens.
The former Morocco international helped Sage guide Lyon to sixth place in the 2024/25 campaign – a fine achievement considering the French giants were bottom of Ligue 1 when Sage initially took over on an interim basis in November 2023.
Player Development and Set Piece Coach: Damien Della Santa
Della Santa also worked under Sage at Lyon alongside Alioui. Remarkably, the Frenchman first became a coach at the age of just 14, specialising in individual player development and set-pieces.
The 36-year-old worked for OGC Nice before moving to Lyon, and held an interesting interview on the official OGC Nice website after being appointed in January 2022, in which he claimed to have helped the side go from conceding a goal every 11 corners to conceding a goal every 59 corners while in an interim role initially.
As Crystal Palace revealed in their official announcement of the coaching staff, Della Santa also has a job within the French Football Federation (FFF) as a coach educator and researcher.
Fitness Coach: Sandy Guichard
Guichard has arrived in SE25 alongside Sage as the new Fitness Coach.
The 44-year-old has worked in the same role as Monaco for the last seven years, and was also a Conditioning Coach for Algeria from March 2013 to July 2014.
Guichard oversaw fitness at Trabzonspor, Sochaux, Bordeaux, Dijon, Besanconand and Sion in the years between his roles with Algeria and Monaco.
It is the first time the Frenchman will work under Sage – who still has weeks to go until he gets to meet Crystal Palace’s World Cup stars.
