Regis Le Bris has said it took his staff ‘one to two weeks’ to adjust to the departure of Mike Dodds last month. Dodds was announced as Wycombe Wanderers head coach on February 2, bringing an end to his time on Wearside.
The former Birmingham City Academy manager took caretaker charge of Sunderland on three separate occasions between February 2022 and May 2024.
The 38-year-old was also an important figure as a part of Le Bris’ backroom staff earlier this season prior to heading south. Sunderland beat Middlesbrough 3-2 in Dodds’ final game on the coaching staff before failing to win three of their next four.
But Le Bris insists it wasn’t a difficult transition. He said: “The organization was not difficult to reset because every member of staff is not just focused on a specific task.
“We involve everyone in many tasks, so they can slide from one position to another easily, and they are involved.
“So, the question of rebuilding the staff wasn’t a tough question. It was solved after one or two weeks. We had to find a new workflow, but it was not difficult.”
It remains to be seen whether Sunderland will replace Dodds on their coaching staff. The Black Cats appointed Pedro Ribiero as assistant head coach alongside Dodds in October.
Ribiero, alongside Mike Proctor, head of goalkeeping Alessandro Barcherini and Tom Weal have made up the coaching staff following Dodds’ departure. Two weeks after he took up the Wycombe job, Sunderland appointed Weal as first-team goalkeeping coach until the end of the season, allowing Barcherini to further support first-team training for the remainder of the season.
Dodds received many plaudits when he left from players at the club, including captain Dan Neil.
Neil said: “Everyone in the squad is really thankful for everything Doddsy has done since he came to the club.
“He got introduced into the first team set up midway through the League One season, and his development as a coach has mirrored the development of the football club over the last few years.”
Since joining the League One outfit, Dodds has taken charge of five league games and has picked up eight points; his only loss came against runaway league leaders Birmingham City. The Chairboys sit second in League One, nine points behind Birmingham and two points ahead of third-placed Wrexham.
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