Habib Diarra produced one of his best performances yet in a Sunderland shirt against Spurs
Régis Le Bris believes Habib Diarra is benefiting from his increased exposure to the Premier League after the midfielder's starring role in Sunderland's win over Spurs.
Diarra became the club's record signing when he joined from Strasbourg last summer, and made a positive early impression before suffering a significant groin injury that stalled his progress. It has taken the midfielder a while to recapture his best form since returning from AFCON but his tireless display as a big part of the win that took Sunderland back into the Premier League top ten.
Le Bris says Diarra can improve in the final third but is heading in the right direction.
"Like for many players, Habib is getting better," Le Bris said.
"He needs minutes in the Premier League because he's a new player at this level, to be fair. He has this power, this energy, so we need to combine this activity with clean execution in the future but overall I think it was good today."
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Sunderland's win took them to within two points of Chelsea in the Europa League spot and though Le Bris wants his side to prove their top-ten credentials between now and the end of the campaign, he insists no one behind the scenes is getting carried away.
"I think we want to move forward step by step and the next challenge is Villa, so we expect a tough challenge but an exciting one and the way we prepare this one will define the energy we'll have, the solutions we'll have, the opportunity we'll be able to manage," Le Bris said.
"It's always like that, so after that we'll see at the end of the season. But I think the energy of the squad is really positive and it's a good sign today after Newcastle to win again at home because it was long those three defeats here, so it was important to break the cycle.
"For me, Europe is not on my mind at the minute because we are tenth. It's brilliant - the main objective of the club was to stay in the league.
"Now it's achieved and the vision, we don't know when, is to be a consistent top ten club in the Premier League. After that, if you are consistent at that level, depending on the table, sometimes you can reach another level, so we'll see."
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