Sunderland secured a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup over the weekend
Régis Le Bris believes Romaine Mundle can ‘absolutely’ have a big impact between now and the end of the campaign for Sunderland after his impressive showing in the FA Cup fourth round win at Oxford.
Mundle was recalled to the starting XI for the cup tie and was Sunderland’s most consistent attacking threat in the game winning the most duels, completing the most dribbles and winning the most fouls of any player on the pitch. All that was missing was a goal, with Matt Ingram making one good second-half save from the winger.
Mundle has been unable to hold down a regular place in the XI after returning from injury late last year, after major hamstring issues disrupted his progress in 2025. Mundle had also been linked with a potential move in the January transfer window and Sunderland have strengthened their options on the left further by recruiting Nilson Angulo.
Le Bris saw Mundle’s performance at Oxford as a ‘real positive’ and says the 22-year-old can still thrive given time and support.
“He can absolutely be an important player for us in the rest of the season,” Le Bris said.
“He still needs time and support, and that will allow his confidence to continue to grow. For a forward player, for a winger, you always need to have this confidence. Performances like this one [against Oxford] will help with that. He was good – it would have been good for him to have scored with one of his chances in the second half because he deserved it. He didn’t, but at least he played a good game and that is really positive.”
The Echo has launched a new WhatsAppSAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join ourSAFC WhatsApp channel.
Régis Le Bris makes FA Cup pledge ahead of Sunderland’s fifth round clash
Sunderland’s win at Oxford means they are now just two wins away from a semi final at Wembley, and were on Monday night drawn away to either Port Vale or Bristol City in the fifth round.
Le Bris says that it is impossible to predict how Sunderland will fare moving through the competition but said that he would continue with his approach of fielding as strong a side as possible regardless of what the draw presents.
“You never know what can happen in a cup competition,” Le Bris said.
“You never know who your opponents are going to be as you progress through the different rounds. The one thing I would say is that at Everton and Oxford, we played our best team in both matches. That is something we will continue to do. We went strong, we went with good energy and real ambition. We will see whether that is enough in the next rounds.”
Continue Reading