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Crystal Palace confirm Pierre Sage's new coaching staff

ยทBy Junior Yekini
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Crystal Palace confirm Pierre Sage's new coaching staff

CPFC/X.com

Crystal Palace have confirmed the coaching staff who will work under new manager Pierre Sage, with Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard all arriving in new roles alongside continuity appointments Paddy McCarthy and Andy Quy.

Alioui, a former Morocco international right-back who captained his country at the 2004 Olympics, becomes assistant manager after following Sage from Olympique Lyonnais to RC Lens, where the pair won the Coupe de France and finished second in Ligue 1 last season. He has previously coached Morocco's Under-20s and several French clubs, including spells managing AS Bron, FC Vaulx-en-Velin, GOAL FC and Bourges Foot 18.

Della Santa, who began coaching aged just 14, joins as player development and set-piece coach, having worked as an assistant to Sage at Lyon as well as at OGC Nice, and continues an ongoing role with the French Football Federation as a coach educator.

Guichard, meanwhile, arrives as fitness coach after seven years in the same role at AS Monaco, with earlier spells at Sion, Sochaux, Bordeaux, Dijon, Besancon and Trabzonspor, as well as with the Algerian national team.

McCarthy, who made 151 appearances for Palace as a defender across eight seasons before moving into coaching, continues as assistant coach after helping the club win its historic first trophy treble last season, while also combining his Palace role with an assistant position with the Republic of Ireland since 2024.

Quy, a former Premier League goalkeeper with Derby County who also played for Tottenham, Stevenage, Kettering Town and Hereford United, remains as goalkeeping coach having joined Palace in September 2025 and played his part in the club's first-ever European trophy win in Leipzig in May.

Sage was appointed as Palace's new head coach on a three-year contract earlier this summer, succeeding Oliver Glasner following the Austrian's departure at the end of last season. The new-look coaching team will oversee preparations for a campaign that follows one of the most successful periods in Palace's history, after last season's European triumph secured the club's place in continental competition once again.