After the Frenchman was officially announced as our new manager, Phil West examines some of the most important problems he has to resolve before the 2024–2025 season.

Rebuild the confidence of the squad

Le Bris takes over at Sunderland on the back of a 2023/2024 season that started encouragingly but ended on the flattest of notes.

As ‘Moggaball’ gave way to ‘Bealeball’ and latterly ‘Doddsball’, you could hardly blame the players for feeling frazzled by the season’s end, as tumult in the dugout led to confusion on the pitch, with results heading south rapidly and the red and white shirt appearing to weigh heavily as any traces of enjoyment slowly vanished.

Nonetheless, this is a squad filled with talent, potential and technical ability, and given his reputation for placing a high premium on the value of youth development, Le Bris can hopefully raise spirits, give the players a boost in morale and create an environment in which they can thrive as opposed to playing with fear.

The likes of Abdoullah Ba, Pierre Ekwah and Jobe Bellingham could be the main beneficiaries of this as they seek to regain their best form, and for mercurially-talented players such as Patrick Roberts, the arrival of Le Bris could potentially be the spark the winger needs to hit back strongly during 2024/2025.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

Inject an element of toughness into the side

The departure of Corry Evans (someone who’ll definitely need to be replaced this summer) has left Sunderland without one of the few players in the squad who was capable of digging in and toughing things out when games descended into physical battles and slick football alone wasn’t enough.