Micky Horswill believes Régis Le Bris could challenge Bob Stokoe’s Sunderland legacy if his remarkable progress continues.
Micky Horswill believes Régis Le Bris could become Sunderland’s greatest manager if he can take the Black Cats deep into European competition.
Horswill was a key member of Bob Stokoe’s legendary 1973 FA Cup-winning side and believes his former boss remains the benchmark when discussing Sunderland managers. But the 1973 hero admits Le Bris could force his way into that conversation.
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Asked whether the Frenchman could eventually surpass Stokoe if Sunderland reached a European final, Horswill said: “I would think so. Stokoe has probably got that accolade at the moment, you know, for what he did for the club and what he did for us at the time. But if this guy can get us into the final now or somewhere near, if they get to the semi-final, it’d be a great run, wouldn’t it?”
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Horswill also believes the current Sunderland squad has created a new generation of heroes. “These are their heroes now,” he said. “They’re the supporters’ players now, so it’ll be great for them. It’ll be sweet.”
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One player Horswill has particularly enjoyed watching is Granit Xhaka. Asked who was the better player in their respective primes, Horswill laughed: “Oh, Granit’s much better than me.” There was rather more confidence when the question became who would win a fight. “Well, I don’t know if he’d win that or not,” Horswill joked. “But he’s a better player.”
Horswill then recalled watching one particular Xhaka pass against Brighton. “He never looked at him, and he hit it with the outside of his foot, first time, and it went straight to the winger,” he said. “I thought, ‘Wow.’ I would have been tackling somebody there!”
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