Sunderland moved into the top half of the Premier League table with a win over Spurs
Régis Le Bris praised his Sunderland players for emphatically answering any pre-match doubts about their motivation for the rest of the campaign.
Sunderland made it back-to-back Premier League wins with a deserved 1-0 win over Spurs at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon, a result which lifted them into the top half of the Premier League with six games to play. Sunderland had to prepare with uncertainty as to how the visitors would set up under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi and though their goal was fortunate as Nordi Mukiele had an effort deflected into the back of the net, they were the better side over the course of the 90 minutes.
Le Bris admitted he wondered how his team would perform after a three-week break and after the high of the Tyne-Wear derby win, and said the performance bodes well for the future.
"Yeah it was a question for everyone, the journalists, the fans and the staff, but the week was good, really good," Le Bris said.
"They worked hard, we felt that they were ambitious because it's about daily standards, it's not about just words, ‘we want to achieve this or that’, it's about what you are doing every day.
"So after that, after three weeks, it's still a bit unpredictable because we play against an opponent with a lot of unknown, with different new coaches, different ideas, but overall I think the energy was really positive, which is a good sign for the future.
"We won at Newcastle and then had three weeks without a game so you can drop a bit because it's the end of the season, but what we felt this week and today during this game is a good sign for the future," Le Bris added.
"Because I think we will prepare for the next season now with how we play. The way we play, the way you are ambitious, the way you want to improve and show your quality on the pitch is so important."
Sunderland are back in action when they travel to face Aston Villa next Sunday. Remarkably, Manchester City's 3-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday means the Black Cats are just two points off the Europa League place with six games to go.
RLB issues verdict on Sunderland’s performance against Spurs
“So we had two or three main objectives today and the first one was to be adaptive because it was hard to anticipate their patterns, their shape,” Le Bris said.
“But being proactive defensively and if it was possible to generate momentum early with the ball, I think was key for this game. Probably the first 15 minutes were a bit sloppy, we lost three, four, five balls without pressure, but after that I think we were good.
“We were often in the final third today, which is good. After that, this final third, you have to manage the last choice and the last pass and we still have room for improvement because if we can be a bit more clinical, it's not the final action but just the action before, I think probably the game should have been a bit easier to manage.We still have a young squad, so they are intense, strong energy, but now it's a question of execution. The last choice, the last pass, probably the presence in the box as well, we still have room for improvement, but we are working hard behind the scenes so it's about small adjustments, but small adjustments at that level make the difference.“
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