Michael Graham has spoken out on a surprise Sunderland manager contender.
Sunderland have been without a manager for over 100 days, since Michael Beale was dismissed on February 19th.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus released a statement earlier in June, claiming that a head coach appointment was ‘imminent’, however talks with managers including former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior have since broken down, leaving the Black Cats still without a manager.
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes was also shortlisted to take on the management role. Cifuentes guided QPR to an 18th place – six points above the relegation zone, but a six-figure compensation makes that deal seem unlikely at this stage.
However, one name that has arisen is Lorient boss Regis Le Bris, who has casted a divide amongst Sunderland fans.
Following relegation with the Ligue 1 outfit, Le Bris is set to leave. But many Sunderland fans online view the potential appointment negatively.
Michael Graham on Sunderland manager target Regis Le Bris
Michael Graham though has viewed the potential appointment of Le Bris positively, suggesting that despite previous work, he ‘deserves to start with a clean slate’.
He has also emphasised the successful season prior to the relegation, where he managed to get Lorient up to 10th in the league, an impressive fate on his managerial debut.
The 48-year-old started his managerial career with the French-based outfit, totalling a win percentage of just 30.26% over two seasons.
Lorient finished the season level on points and goal difference with Metz in the relegation play-off spot, but one less win throughout the campaign saw Le Bris’ side relegated on 29 points out of 34 matches.
Is Regis Le Bris a good fit for Sunderland
Le Bris’ coaching career spans back to the 2012/13 season where he was appointed as manager of the Lorient U19s.
The managerial role at Lorient B saw the Frenchman oversee 150 matches, achieving an impressive 1.51 points per match.
However, what stands out is the very recent exposure to first-team football, having not had a role with the senior side until June 2022.
The 48-year-old set out with a 4-2-3-1 formation in the 2022/23 season which saw his side get shock results against the likes of Olympique Lyon and PSG.
He also suffered just one defeat in his first 12 games with Lorient, setting them up with European dreams, but a shaky second half to the season limited the chances of that.
His inconsistencies in France’s top flight are only fuelled from his lack of experience in the English game, one which could end drastically for Sunderland.
He has however proved doubters wrong with his first year at Lorient and could repeat that fate with Sunderland.