Instant reaction to Regis Le Bris press conference ahead of Sunderland vs Liverpool
Sunderland face both Liverpool and Manchester City in the next few days.
The Black Cats travel to Anfield on Wednesday night hoping to capitalise on the rickety form of the defending champions, who have won just three of their last 13 matches across all competitions - including a 2-0 victory over West Ham on Sunday.
Le Bris’ men will then set up camp in the North West before embarking on another unenviable away challenge, lining up against Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.
What has Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris said about upcoming Premier League clashes against Liverpool and Manchester City?
But while Sunderland are undoubtedly set for a testing double-header over the coming days, Le Bris has admitted that he is relishing the opportunity. Speaking in a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s showdown with Liverpool, the Black Cats boss said: “We worked hard to have the privilege to play this kind of game. It's a great honour to be in that position, especially through a positive dynamic. Challenging situation, tough game, but we want to live these kinds of experiences.”
On playing at Anfield, the Frenchman added: “It's another game in a really special place. But our players, even if we have a young team, now have the good experience and they want to be competitive because otherwise you will be a spectator and we don't want to be a spectator.
“Liverpool will be strong. The place is impressive, but at the same time, we want to be competitive. So, we'll see. They were strong against West Ham and dominant, as expected. We'll have to show the best version of Sunderland to be competitive.”
Taking a broader view of the next few days, Le Bris confessed: “It's probably the strongest week of my life from a football perspective and at the same time, the most exciting. We’ve got a strong squad, good dynamic, the players are so well connected that we can say that we want to be competitive. We know that those squads are really strong, they can change the dynamic just with one, two or three players, but we'll give our best.
“They [Liverpool and Man City] have three, four, five, six dangerous players on the pitch. I might say 11. We don't focus too much on individuals - it’s about us and our squad. We will play this game with bravery, with strong teamwork, and if we are in this situation and we work hard, after that we won't have any regrets.”
Le Bris was also asked how much confidence his side should take into their trip to Anfield, responding: “We can't focus too much on the opponent. So, they are strong, really strong. It's a top Champions League team and Man City will be exactly the same. So, if you focus too much on the opponent, you will be scared.
“It’s best you don't do that. Just let's focus on our strength and try to improve through those different experiences with the way we are playing. If you can keep pushing on these aspects and after that we'll see, because the game is still unpredictable.
“I'm really focused on the game. I’ll have one or two minutes to look at the stadium. After that, you have to be one hundred percent focused and to manage the game in real time and do what I can to help the squad. I'm not too disturbed or distracted by the stadium.”
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The Sunderland head coach was then posed a cheeky question on whether the next two fixtures could have an impact on his side’s simmering European qualification hopes, to which he replied: “It's really exciting, and the players are happy to challenge these two strong teams.
“We have showed we want to be bold and accept the risk to be punished. You want to play your football, want to press high, but if it's not possible, we'll use a deep or mid-deep block. If it's possible to play even under pressure, let's try. After that, we can grow through different experiences, sometimes we make mistakes, but these mistakes are really important to grow, to learn, and to get better after if you accept that these mistakes are part of the process. So far we have worked like that, and it was positive. We'll see for the future.”
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