Sky Sports presenter and former non-executive director David Jones has been reflecting on his time at the club with The Echo
Former Sunderland board member David Jones believes Régis Le Bris and the club have proved to be a 'match made in heaven'.
Sky Sports' presenter Jones, who served as non-executive member at the club he supports until August of last year, was part of the delegation who met Le Bris ahead of his taking charge in summer of last year. Jones recalled how Le Bris impressed with his attention to detail and how he has since overcome the one major reservation he had about how he would fare on Wearside.
"The first meetings that I was part of were initially on Zoom and then we went to meet Régis," Jones told The Echo.
"He was actually on holiday at the time and we met him not far from where he was on holiday in Europe and my first impression of him was, and I think that it has been proven correct, was of a professor.
"He was someone who was so analytical, almost teacher-like in the way that he thought about football and coaching and had deep layers of understanding of the game. He wasn't as comfortable in sort of general football conversation I would say, but really came to life and you saw that spark in him when it got a lot more detailed and he was able to talk about the analysis that's so key to the way that he works. He was definitely the most detailed coach that we'd come across at that time.
"I suppose my biggest concern at that point was how he would deal with the bigger job of being a Sunderland head coach, because it can be quite an isolating role and an incredibly pressured role. I think what I didn't sort of bear in mind at that moment was that to him it's just all noise, it's like he's got a natural shield up because he is only worried about the performance of individuals in relation to the performance of the team. He has his methods which people who've worked closely with him at the club will tell you are the best they've ever seen in terms of his match preparation, he is so diligent and focused and analytical. He's a real perfectionist which is why we probably shouldn't be surprised by the level of performance that he's managed to coax out of these players.
"I only hope that it can last because as we as we know, at Lorient the first season in the top division was the best they ever had and the second season they were relegated so I suppose that is is something that he has in the back of his mind that that he would love to to show everyone that that that was not going to be the case again. So far, he's barely put a foot wrong."
Jones: Sunderland’s structure made Le Bris appointment perfect move
Jones also believes the structure Sunderland now has in place means the role of head coach has changed significantly, allowing a different kind of character from some of the club's most successful modern bosses to succeed.
"What we should consider as well is he was coming into an environment that was really well structured," Jones said.
"Everyone knew their roles and it just needed there to be an exceptional head coach to make it all happen. If you think about the the layers from Kyril Louis-Dreyfus down to Kristjaan Speakman and now Florent Ghisolfi, the support team was there and it just required that little bit of magic that Régis is able to bring. I don't think it needs to be a big totemic manager figure [now], which is why it was probably perfect for him and it's a bit of a marriage made in heaven."
Catch our conversation with David Jones in full over on the Sunderland Echo YouTube page.
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