Regis Le Bris met the press to spell out his intentions for Sunderland and spoke of how he wants to “entertain the fans” and how he sees “the project” at the Stadium of Light.
The 48-year-old came across well in his first press conference as the Black Cats’ head coach and answered the questions about his role with eloquence and assuredness. Le Bris outlined the blueprint for how he wants his side to look ahead of an important season for the club.
The Frenchman has been casting a watchful eye over the first-team squad this week after taking training for the first time on Monday morning. Following the first few weeks at the Academy of Light, Le Bris will then continue to build on their preparations over the summer months with UK-based friendlies against South Shields, Gateshead, Blackpool and Bradford City.
Those games will be played either side of a pre-season trip to Spain where the Lads will take on Premier League opposition in Nottingham Forest and Spanish outfit CD Eldense.
“I am very happy to be on the pitch because it’s my job to be with the players on the pitch,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to be at this club because of the mentality, the methodology, the fans, the facilities and the culture also.
“I wanted to train abroad, for me it was a purpose and this opportunity is very exciting. So I am in this mindset at the moment.”
Speaking of what attracted him to Sunderland he maintained: “For me in the beginning it was a question of project. I think if I want to express myself, if I want to be the best version of me, I need to find a project which is in line with this idea.
“When I had this opportunity it fit really well and it wasn’t, for me, an objective to be in a prestigious club, which I think it is, here, with this opportunity. It’s incredible for me. So the fans and the environment around the club is very exciting. I think the energy of the city, the people around, the organisation, I think it’s a great strength for this club.”
Asked if it was his intention to get the club to the Premier League after such a long absence, he said: “The history is very important for the fans and we all expect this objective could happen quickly but we need to build the foundations because that football and that level is very high and we need to be a very strong club, very strong organisation, team and coaching staff and also around the club, to be able to compete at that level.”
Le Brix was philosophical about the time it took to appoint him while he also confirmed he wouldn’t be bringing his own coaching team from France and that the process of appointing staff is ongoing. He added: “We are searching for the ideal situation but it never happens. It’s a complex process to find a new coach and it’s a complex process to find coaching staff and recruit the players and we would like to be in the ideal situation but it never happens so we have to deal with it.
