Regis Le Bris has reflected on his first six months in charge at Sunderland, saying: “I have really enjoyed the connection with the people, the project, the players and people around the club.”
The Frenchman has made a huge impact since arriving on Wearside and is already loved by fans while his team is exciting to watch.
“The six months is just a period and we have been very impressive,” he said. “I have really enjoyed it and it’s not often in our job because our job is very unstable.
“When you can enjoy it you have to because it’s not often. If you can last, why not. We will see because football is unpredictable. At least if I am focused on my job and I tried my best, that’s the best thing.”
He added: “I had no real expectations. I knew a little bit about the club. But when you are in the building, with the team and you manage many situations, the reality is very different. The reality of now will be different again in two, three or five months, so it is always evolving.
“The club is massive, the expectations are huge here but we can feel the patience and how people like the club and football in general.”
There is a good feel around Sunderland and Le Bris agreed. “Yes, probably we can feel the synergy in the club now. We can feel we are sharing a whole project, not only the professional team, it’s a shared ambition, sometimes we can feel this alignment and we can feel this right now.
“We are still a young team and we can feel the process and we can feel good energy in the club.”
Asked what it will take to keep pace with the likes of Sheffield United, Burnley and Leeds United at the top of the Championship he explained: “Probably we are not in the same place with depth and experience but this is our model and identity and we have many strengths. We will have some difficult periods to manage and if we can keep consistency that’s key.
“It was the case that even though we struggled to score, the team managed our identity. They kept the connections, and that was even the case through the injuries and suspensions. The style of play was the same even though it was a completely different team.
“So it’s our dynamic and we have to believe that dynamic will be positive in the end.”
Le Bris has had plenty of problems with injuries and suspensions and has just got on with the job. He said: “It’s not a question of complaining, and wanting new players. We have solutions inside rather than searching outside. The responsibility and commitment is higher because the responsibility is with you. The young players can see we have no other choices so it’s up to us whether we are competitive or not.
“We used this week to reinforce our foundations in many aspects of our game model. To say ‘we are very good here, and here and we need to keep going forward like that’ and others where we have to manage different options, such as set-pieces and throw-ins we can manage in a different way, for example.
“This is our main focus. We have the confidence and we have a shared future and this is my job to manage unpredictable situations. I am happy with the way they are playing now.”
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/regis-le-bris-assesses-six-30625203
