Why Brian Brobbey is starting to show his best form for Sunderland
Sunderland have made an outstanding start to their Premier League campaign and sit fourth after eleven games
The Black Cats have made a strong start to the campaign, sitting fourth with 19 points from their first 11 games. Key to their success has been that only three teams in the entire division have conceded fewer goals, and only four teams have conceded a lower XG across the opening months of the campaign.
The Sunderland head coach admits his team is still very much a work in progress across a number of areas. but believes the togetherness of the group and the sacrifices his forward players are making to support the defence is key to the strong form.
"Yes, I think we still have room for improvement in different areas," Le Bris said.
"If we defend properly, I think we are setting good foundations for our confidence, for the build-up and so on. So for me, it's always a priority the way we want to defend together. It's not just a question of tactics, it's a question of mentality as well, togetherness. A forward has to work like a defender. When you create this workflow, I think you can set a good foundation for the offensive phase."
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The key recruitment attribute Sunderland targeted this summer
That Sunderland have been able to defend so impressively so far this season owes much to the fact that they have been able to cope with the physicality of the Premier League, which Le Bris explained was a key attribute they were looking for in their summer recruitment. The Black Cats signed 14 players in a transformative window and most have gone on to become regulars in Le Bris's XI.
"Robustness is key in this league," Le Bris said.
"You have to have a specific profile and we can now use data to profile the players. If you don't have ability to run in your previous league, it will be tough to do so in the Premier League. If in your career previously you had many injuries, it means that it might be difficult to play in this league. So with these two topics, I think we avoided big mistakes and then after that, the players have to experience the Premier League. So far, so good. I hope it can continue like this."
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