Regis Le Bris is just days away from meeting up with the Sunderland squad.
The Sunderland boss was appointed over the weekend and there has so far been a lot of disappointment.
Very little is known about Le Bris, other than him only spending two seasons in senior football, one of which resulted in relegation.
Lorient were expected to be battling relegation when Le Bris was first appointed in 2022, but they went onto claim a mid-table finish.
Things quickly went downhill after they sold the likes of Terem Moffi and Enzo Le Fee though, before they were relegated on goal difference.
The 48-year-old is yet to participate in his first interview with Sunderland, so it has so far been a guessing game for fans trying to figure out what their new head coach is going to be like.
Le Bris may have one ‘incredibly important’ trait
However, one positive is that journalist Phil Smith believes he may have one trait that contributed to Tony Mowbray’s success at the Stadium of Light.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Smith said: “When it’s a club of Sunderland’s size, there are still some old school managerial qualities that are unbelievably important, and communication and leadership are a big part of that.
“I argued loads that I felt the appointment of [Michael] Beale had underestimated that side of it.
“It’s impossible to make a judgement on Le Bris because we just know so little about him.
“But I get the impression that he’s a very, very sort of calm figure, and that maybe that will be good.
“He’ll have that sort of emotional balance – never too high and never too low – which I think is incredibly important. That’s something that Alex Neil and Tony Mowbray both had.
“I think that allowed them to be a success. They were never up a height when Sunderland won and they were never sort of particularly flat after Sunderland lost.
“I think they had that emotional balance and hopefully Le Bris will bring that.”
Sunderland managers need to understand the fans to succeed
Sunderland is such a community, tight-knit football club that it only really works if they have a manager that is willing to be part of that and really understands the fans.
That is why Mowbray worked so well, and that’s why the likes of David Moyes, Phil Parkinson and Beale didn’t.
They lacked any emotional connection to the fans and had no real relationship with the players either.
Le Bris is coming into a huge challenge and will be judged by everyone almost instantly.
If he can kick it off by gaining the respect from the fans and gaining the trust of the players, then it will make things a lot smoother for him.