Sunderland return to Premier League action when they face Spurs on Sunday afternoon
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland want to show they can be a top-half Premier League team in the final seven games of their campaign.
A win over Newcastle United in the Tyne-Wear derby took the Black Cats to 43 points for the campaign, all but securing their primary objective of avoiding relegation back to the Championship. The Sunderland head coach made clear, however, that his team don't consider their work done.
While the campaign will realistically be a success whatever happens, particularly given the two derby wins, Le Bris says everyone at the club is eager to show their top-half credentials.
"Yeah after Leeds, when we reached the 40-point target we spoke about what might be the future because we always need objectives." Le Bris said.
"Collective objectives, individual objectives and daily standards. And for the club it's clear, the owner, the director of football and so on, they want to be consistent in the top 10 in the Premier League. This is their vision, and I share this vision. And if you are consistent in this part of the table, one year, two years, you can be a bit closer to the top six, so we are doing well, and this season it is probably achievable. Is it early? Yes, maybe. But when it's on, you have to try and seize the opportunity, so we'll see."
Sunderland could yet seal a very unlikely European place, particularly if more places are passed further down the Premier League table. Le Bris was asked if he thinks the club would be ready for the extra demands of European football and said that would be a bridge the club would cross as and when, as they so often have done over the last two years.
"I don't know," Le Bris said.
"Two seasons ago we might have said the Premier League was too early. We didn't set specific goals but we said we'd work hard and work with our identity and we'll see.
"For this season it's the same. Maybe people would say winning away at Chelsea and Newcastle is impossible. If it's possible, the players and the team and the goal are ready to achieve this goal and we'll manage the next goal."
Le Bris said he was confident that his players would not suffer from complacency having all but secured safety.
"They are consistent," he said.
"Sometimes emotional, which is good. It's not always easy to manage at half-time, for example, but it shows they care about results, style of play and ambition.
"For the rest of the season we don't know. It's always connected with the opponent but what we've shown in training is good. I think we still want to win and the pressure is more internal. We want to win again at home because we struggled a bit in the last sequence.
"It's about our standards. The main goal of the season is probably achieved now and it wasn't easy. Sometimes we can forget because it's always about the next game but it was really hard and we struggled at times but we showed great character.
"Now we want to keep that because we want to grow."
Régis Le Bris’s injury update ahead of Spurs clash
Le Bris confirmed that Robin Roefs would return for Sunday’s visit of Spurs to the Stadium of Light, but that Dan Ballard remained sidelined.
“We have Jocelin, Romaine, Bertrand and Simon sidelined for this game,” Le Bris said.
“For Ballard and Nilson, they are close to returning back but it will be a bit short for Tottenham. For the rest of the group, they are available.”
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