Sunderland confirmed the departure of Pedro Ribeiro last week
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland are not looking directly replace departed assistant head coach Pedro Ribeiro in the coming weeks.
The Portuguese coach joined the club in October last year and played a key part in the club's promotion to the Premier League, but left last week despite playing a role in the early weeks of pre-season. His departure followed the appointment of three new coaches to Le Bris's backroom staff, which means that the Sunderland head coach feels he largely has in place what he needs for the season ahead.
Former AC Milan coach Luciano Vulcano has joined as assistant head coach, with former PSG and Barcelona coach Isidre Ramón Madir also joining the staff with a focus on opposition analysis. Experienced Premier League coach Neil Cutler has joined to oversee the goalkeeping department, allowing Alessandro Barcherini to take on a broader remit. Michael Proctor remains in post as assistant coach.
Le Bris says the club could look to add some further specialist support around the team in future, with set pieces one area of potential improvement, but that no new appointments are imminent.
"We are really comfortable right now," Le Bris said.
"We don't plan to replace Pedro in his position. We'll see if we can improve the staff in other areas but at the minute, there is nothing [in the pipeline]. The only position we could maybe improve is around set pieces. So this is an idea that is in our minds but we have to make sure we find the right person and until now, we haven't done that."
What kristjaan Speakman said about Pedro Ribeiro’s Sunderland departure
Kristjaan Speakman had confirmed Pedro Ribeiro's departure in a statement last week, saying it was a mutual decision following the arrival of the new coaching team.
Speakman said: “Following the recent restructure within our coaching team, we have been in regular dialogue with Pedro and agreed to mutually part ways. We thank him for his contribution to the Club and for the role he played in our promotion-winning campaign. Everyone at the Academy of Light wishes him well in the next chapter of his career.”
It had been reported in Portugal that Ribeiro was likely to return and seek a post as head coach there, as he did earlier in his career.
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