AJI ALESE expects Sunderland to benefit from having had a full pre-season working under their new head coach Regis Le Bris.
Last summer, the Black Cats were still under the control of Tony Mowbray, and when he was replaced in the first half of the season, his successor, Michael Beale, had to try to hit the ground running with only limited time in which to implement his plans.
Beale lasted just two months before he was dismissed, and Sunderland’s season imploded when Mike Dodds tried to take up the reins in the spring.
The hope is that there will be much greater stability next term, and Alese feels that working under Le Bris for more than a month will be of major benefit when the real business begins with the opening game of the Championship season at Cardiff City this weekend.
“It definitely helps,” said the centre-half, who partnered Luke O’Nien at the heart of the back four as Sunderland completed their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw with Marseille at the weekend. “Having a week between games in the summer to get recovered and get back on the pitch and get messages in is massively helpful.
“Last season, when Mick Beale came in, he had to implement his ways and get wins. Now, the gaffer has the chance to implement his ways and the last five or six games haven’t meant anything. So, we have an understanding of how he wants us to play, and we’ll take that into next week.”
Le Bris has been trying to introduce a new playing style based on high-pressing and a swift transition from defence to attack.
There were signs of progress in Saturday’s draw at Valley Parade, with Sunderland more than matching a Marseille side that finished eighth in Ligue 1 last season, but when it comes to Le Bris’ instructions to his defenders, the message has been a simple one.
“He’s just said, ‘Don’t concede goals’,” laughed Alese. “Obviously, we want clean sheets, but we also want good defensive shape.
“We have a certain way of how we press when they’re playing out from the back, we have a certain shape we have when there’s a low block, leading the team from behind. But it’s (about) the importance of keeping clean sheets, because if you keep a clean sheet, that’s the foundation to win a game.”
Alese was pleased with his side’s performance as they drew with Marseille, and is looking forward to Saturday’s season opener at the Cardiff City Stadium.
“It (the Marseille game) was the last pre-season game, so we wanted to get as much out of it as we could,” he said. “We scored two goals, obviously we conceded a couple so we’ll look back on that and figure it out, but against good opposition, it was a good workout and a good result.
“We always want to challenge ourselves, like playing (Nottingham) Forest earlier this summer, good opposition where we can test ourselves against players playing in a league above ours.
