Sunderland beat Bundesliga side FC Augsburg in their penultimate pre-season friendly
Régis Le Bris believes his team are making good progress ahead of the Premier League campaign but has warned that they must be more clinical when the competitive action begins.
Sunderland produced a good performance to beat Bundesliga opposition in their penultimate pre-season friendly on Saturday, with Habib Diarra's opening goal securing a 1-0 win over FC Augsburg. Robin Roefs saved a first-half penalty to ensure the win but Sunderland should have scored more, Eliezer Mayenda missing a penalty of his own and spurning a couple of other big chances in an otherwise promising display.
Le Bris feels the progress of the team, especially as he integrates so many new signings, is obvious but that they simply have to sharpen up in front of goal.
"Game after game, we can feel that the team is improving," he told safc.com.
"Today we created many chances but we were not clinical, it's still an important part to develop because we know in the Premier League we won't have many chances and we have to be very clinical when they come. Out of possession we worked well, many details to develop but we have one more week to go further.
"We can feel that week after week, the new signings are getting better. The fitness level is higher and the shared references are better, so these connections take time and we need many experiences to develop this part of the game. We need these kinds of games, sometimes we lose and sometimes we win, to develop these experiences. We can feel the squad [coming together] because it's almost a new squad with so many new players. We have to keep the identity, the pillars of Sunderland, because we have to play as a unit. The tactical approach is different for the new players, so we can feel I think the improvements."
Régis Le Bris confirms Sunderland selection plan for Rayo Vallecano clash
Le Bris confirmed that he would field a new starting XI as Sunderland conclude their pre-season campaign against Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon (4.30pm KO).
The team that the Sunderland head coach selected to face Augsburg on Saturday afternoon is expected to be very close to the XI that will start against West Ham United next weekend, but Le Bris says those who feature against Rayo Vallecano still have a massive part to play and urged them to take their opportunity.
"It's a really good set up for our squad," Le Bris said of the weekend double header.
"Today we pushed until 90 minutes for everyone and for the current finishers, because we will need everyone involved, they will play almost 90 minutes tomorrow. It's a real positive. The team will be a bit younger tomorrow but we'll have players involved who could start in this team, so it will be very interesting."
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