Sunderland secured a comfortable win over West Ham United on the opening day of the Premier League season
Le Fée had broadly been expected to be a regular starter this season but had to settle for a place on the bench on opening day, and with Sunderland still searching for reinforcements in the wide positions he was deployed in a left-wing role when introduced in the second half.
Head coach Régis Le Bris has insisted that the midfielder is a massive part of his plans this season and though the 25-year-old is eager to fight his way into the starting XI, he says he understands the current situation. Le Fée said he was proud that he and his fellow substitutes had maintained Sunderland’s strong position in the game, and helped add a third goal.
“Yes, I'm ready,” Le Fée said.
“Even if I had two minutes, I was ready to help the team. Everybody has to have this mindset because it's never the first eleven that will finish the season. We work for this, everyone. When the coach calls us to go in, we have to do the job to help the team to score. We did this for Wilson today and I think this is a good example.
“I think everyone wants to play in the starting XI, of course, but sometimes it's like this.Hopefully, he trusts me for the season. If it wasn't the case, I would be the first surprised. I know him, so I have to do the job for him and for the club as well. I think last year we did a really good job, but now we have to stay in this league so everybody is in the same boat. We work together to be good.
“I think the biggest strength of the team is to be together. For me, it's a really good start for everyone because we scored three goals and the substitutions don't change the game in a bad way. We try to keep the team in a good way and we score a third, so that's a good example. Hopefully, it will be the same case every game. Yes, sometimes we have bad games, but that's football. We can't say we'll have only good games. Everybody knows that football is like this, so we have to be together.”
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Enzo Le Fée reveals clear Sunderland dressing room message after West Ham United win
Le Fée hailed the ‘incredible’ atmosphere on opening day and insisted that the Sunderland players were fully aware that they much more work to do in the weeks ahead.
“It was really, really good,” he said.
“It was looking like the play-off game against Coventry. If we can have this every time when we play at home, it would be incredible. Of course, the fans can help us on the pitch even when it will be more difficult. I know they will be behind us, so for me it's really, really important.
“I think we did good, but it's only one game, so the season will be long. It's really good to start with three points at home as well, but it's only three points and we know we need more. Now we will prepare for the second game, Burnley away, and every game will be important. It's a good start, but it's not enough.”
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