Regis Le Bris leads out his Sunderland team at Wembley (Image: Ian Horrocks)
Regis Le Bris leads out his Sunderland team at Wembley (Image: Ian Horrocks)
REGIS LE BRIS is confident Sunderland can take the “next steps” that will be needed to enable the club to successfully re-establish itself in the Premier League next season.
With the euphoria from last weekend’s play-off final victory at Wembley beginning to fade, the scale of the task Sunderland face as they prepare for a return to the top-flight is becoming clear.
The bookmakers have already installed the Black Cats as firm favourites for the drop next term, and with Jobe Bellingham having held talks with officials from both Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt during a whistlestop tour of Germany, Kristjaan Speakman and the rest of the Sunderland hierarchy face a huge battle to hold on to one of their star midfielders.
Enzo Le Fee’s initial loan move has become a permanent transfer though, with Sunderland’s recruitment team ready to move for some of their other targets once the transfer window officially reopens at the start of next month, and while Le Bris accepts there is plenty of work to do, he is confident the Black Cats can bridge the gap to the top-flight.
“I think here at Sunderland, we are still building our structure,” said the Frenchman, who has headed back to his homeland for a post-season break. “Now, we will have to make another forward step.
“We will have to do that to prepare the squad for the Premier League. We will see in the next few days and weeks exactly what that looks like. Can the club make that next step? I hope so.”
While there has been plenty of behind-the-scenes planning for a return to the Premier League, most of that has involved Speakman, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and the rest of the club’s recruitment specialists.
Prior to Saturday evening, Le Bris’ attention had been almost exclusively focused on successfully negotiating the play-offs. That meant shutting away any thoughts about what being back in the top-flight would mean and shelving any conversations about potential incomings or outgoings.
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Those discussions are now a matter of urgency, with Sunderland’s participation in the play-offs, and consequent uncertainty about what league they would be playing in next season, meaning they are already behind some of their rivals when it comes to firming up transfer plans.
“It’s been difficult to realise and think about,” admitted Le Bris. “I have been so connected with the moment we have been in. I have spent all my time thinking about what we had to do to get into the play-off final, then what we had to do to win that game.
“I didn’t really think too much about the consequences. A defeat, a win? Now, we will have a few days and then we will have to see. We will celebrate and spend time with our family and friends, then we will focus on the future.”
While Le Bris is one of the most level-headed and pragmatic head coaches imaginable, he has stressed the need to celebrate to his players. He joined his squad at a post-match party in London on Saturday evening before heading off for further celebrations with family and friends.
Inevitably, thoughts are already turning to the future, but Le Bris happily admits that it will take a fair bit of time for the emotions of Sunderland’s season to fade. Written off before the start of the campaign, and again when they failed to win any of their final six league games, the Black Cats ended the season in triumph.
“Emotionally, it has been impressive,” said Le Bris. “The semi-final was something else, at the end of the second leg, the scenes were absolutely crazy. And then at Wembley, it was the case again.
“To create these emotions and these memories has been brilliant – for the fans and for us. We had to come through some tough moments to be able to do it, and the whole experience is something I will never forget. It will be a huge moment for my life, for sure.”