Regis Le Bris has ‘no doubt’ Sunderland squad still back him despite latest loss
The pressure is on the Frenchman after the Black Cats were left stuck on just five points from their opening nine games.
Regis Le Bris insisted he still has the backing of his Sunderland players after Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Coventry left them bottom of the Premier League – but he insisted their struggles were not unexpected.
The pressure is on the Frenchman after they were left stuck on just five points from their opening nine games, already two months removed from their only league win of the campaign against Fulham, with the highs of last term, when they finished seventh following promotion, already feeling a long way away.
Le Bris heard boos from the travelling supporters at full time but insisted the dressing room was still with him.
“No doubt, no doubt,” he said. “I don’t think like this. We experienced so many difficult situations to achieve what we achieved, and we won’t give up just because it’s a bit tough at the beginning of the season.
“So, 100 per cent I’m combative. I feel the unity of the club. I don’t feel that the players are trying to escape their own responsibilities, which is the most important, I think. For the staff, it’s the case. For me, it’s the case. So I keep working hard.”
Asked if his players recognise the peril they are in, Le Bris said: “I don’t think they are not aware of the situation at all. They own the reality of the club, this dynamic, we are growing fast. We are exposed this season with this busy schedule, it’s really demanding.
“Is it unexpected? I don’t think so. Many clubs last year experienced exactly the same situation. First year in Europe, you know you will have on average 10 less points. It’s our reality…
“Does it mean we are happy? Absolutely not. We have to get better. We have to play better than we did in the first half. It’s hard to be not able to play our football with confidence, with the ability to be ourselves.”
Sunderland dug themselves a hole through defensive mistakes. A missed clearance allowed Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to fire Coventry in front after 17 minutes, before they lost possession to let Taiwo Awoniyi double the lead by half-time.
Jack Rudoni all but killed it early in the second half with Enzo Le Fee’s 67th-minute penalty too little for the Black Cats.
Victory for Coventry lifted them out of the bottom three and changed the mood after last Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to a Fulham side who had also arrived at the CBS Arena in the bottom three.
“It’s a nice bounce for us,” Frank Lampard said. “We won two games, we lost two games, the feeling can change very quickly. We try not to let that affect us, but I’m talking about the feeling in the stadium.
“Fulham felt not great because there’s this strange expectation we’ll come here and win games and dominate games. It’s not that, it’s the Premier League. Everything’s different.
“We have to try and fight and be at our max every game to try and win. And when you get that feeling of what it takes to win a game, it takes every little bit of energy…
“I think the players have to understand all those things. So that’s really positive for us that we have that in the game, what it takes. We always want more, but it gives us a nice feeling that we can really compete here and let’s take that forward.”