Sunderland fell to a narrow defeat in their latest pre-season friendly against Real Betis on Saturday
Régis Le Bris hailed the impact of Sunderland's three debutants despite a narrow loss to Real Betis on Saturday afternoon.
Reinildo, Granit Xhaka and Robin Roefs all started the game as the Black Cats eventually fell to a 1-0 defeat against their La Liga opposition, despite a generally positive performance.
With Jenson Seelt picking up a minor injury on Friday, Reinildo played as the left-sided central defender. His strongest position is at left back but the head coach was pleased with his performance and feels it is an option for him in the upcoming campaign.
"It was an important step for Reinildo, he wanted to play more but we have to be careful," Le Bris said.
"We have been building up his training so this was an important step, and then next weekend he'll have the chance to push a little bit further.
"The plan is to play at left back, but Jenson got a small injury in the training session on Friday. I think it could be an option during the season because he has played in this position for the national team so I think 60 minutes is another important step for him."
Granit Xhaka delivered an excellent performance at the base of midfield and Le Bris confirmed that he is likely to be captain for the upcoming campaign.
Le Bris said: "We need maturity, level, consistency, experience - he brings everything.
"You can feel that for the others around him, it makes their life easier. For the Premier League it really helps to have two, three lads like that. He will probably be captain, yes."
Le Bris also praised goalkeeper Robin Roefs, who delivered a solid performance.
Le Bris said: "Robin has this quality, he has composure on the ball. He's a good goalkeeper, he looked very good this afternoon."
Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on Sunderland's pre-season form
Sunderland have not win since their first pre-season fixture against South Shields, but Le Bris insists he is pleased with the progress of his team.
"I'm not too worried, we lost the last five games of the Championship season but we understood why," Le Bris said.
"It's not the same scenario but we are building a new squad, the quality is clear so it's just a question of adding new building blocks. We can feel the energy is different."
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