Sunderland saw more players involved their promotion to the Premier League leave last month
Régis Le Bris believes the legacy of Sunderland’s promotion heroes is secure after a January transfer in which more stalwarts of the club’s rise from League One to the Premier League departed.
Patrick Roberts converted his Birmingham City loan into a permanent deal, while Dan Neil joined Ipswich Town on loan ahead of his departure as a free agent in the summer. Anthony Patterson joined Millwall on loan and could yet leave permanently this summer after Sunderland recruited 22-year-old goalkeeper Melker Ellborg on loan from Malmo. Only Dennis Cirkin, Trai Hume and Luke O’Nien remain in the squad as veterans of both promotion campaigns.
The Sunderland coach praised their contributions to the club and said that their legacy was evident in the spirit that a new look side has maintained this season.
“Yeah, we spent last season, a long, long season together,” Le Bris said.
“So I had a special relationship with them, especially for my first year in England. So it was a perfect season, we struggled at times because it was tough and long, but this group with Dan, with Pat, with many players was really impressive and the connection is still there, even if they don't play for Sunderland now.
“Now I think the identity of the club is clear, well connected with the game model, with the way we want to recruit as well,” he added.
“Because we are aligned [behind the scenes], I think we can work together and we can avoid mistakes about profile, about personalities. And then the core of the group is still there, even if it's a bit different, but we have leaders, we have a stronger identity and when we don't play like that, we struggle. This league, you can play a good game and get punished, but if you don't play with your identity, at the end you have many regrets.”
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What Régis Le Bris told his Sunderland players at half time in Burnley win
Le Bris saw his Sunderland side bounce back quickly from their loss to West Ham United and preserve their unbeaten home record at the Stadium of Light with a 3-0 win over Burnley.
The Sunderland head coach was pleased to see a professional performance from his players and that they had not taken their eye off the ball when leading 2-0 at half time.
“I told the players during the half-time that two teams this weekend went 2-0 up and finally lost or drew at the end of the game,” Le Bris said.
“So I told them it's not finished. In the Premier League, if you get complacent, you'll get punished for sure. So it was an objective to win the second half, to solve or fix two or three problems and to stay ambitious. So they did it very well.”
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