Sunderland finally announced the appointment of a new manager on the weekend as Regis Le Bris took over from Mike Dodds’ interim spell.
It had been a long few months at the Stadium of Light with the managerial hunt seemingly never coming to an end.
While many of the Sunderland faithful longed to see Steve Cooper or Paul Heckingbottom appointed, the Black Cats owners opted to go for the relatively unknown former Lorient manager Le Bris.
Set to start on July 1, the Frenchman has plenty of work to do to prepare for the 2024/25 campaign where promotion back into the Premier League will no doubt be the aim.
In this article, Sunderland AFC News highlights eight reasons why Black Cats fans should be very excited to see what Le Bris can offer the club ahead of the upcoming season.
Regis Le Bris is an experienced academy coach
Throughout his coaching career, Le Bris has mainly worked as a youth coach. Throughout the past 21 years, 19 of them were spent guiding the next generation of talent in France.
This resulted in multiple youngsters going on to be stars. Both Mattéo Guendouzi and Illan Meslier went on to play key roles in the Premier League which began thanks to Le Bris’ coaching.
With Sunderland priding itself on its academy, this could see a wealth of the Black Cats’ next generation go above and beyond their potential thanks to the incoming manager.
Regis Le Bris can speak multiple languages
A highly unrated skill in the managerial department is the ability to speak multiple languages. Possessing this ability can help to both settle in any foreign players as well as tempt them into the club in the transfer market.
Le Bris can speak both French and English. This could easily have an immediate impact on the club. Sunderland already has plenty of French players and by speaking their common tongue, this could help to get his ideas across quickly.
Read more: When Le Bris’ first Sunderland pre-season games are set to take place.
Sunderland are set for an exciting style of play
One big concern throughout 2024 was that Sunderland had become boring to watch. The club continuously struggled to score, with games at the Stadium of Light becoming a slog to watch.
However, Le Bris offers an exciting style of play that will be sure to entertain fans.
At Lorient, the Frenchman adopted a style that worried little about possession of the ball and instead focused on quick transitions. It has already been reported that Le Bris will focus on an attacking style at Sunderland which should lead to highly entertaining games.
Regis Le Bris can help many of Sunderland’s struggling players
Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, there were plenty of Sunderland’s first-team who did not reach their expectations. This resulted in a highly disappointing 2024 where any promotion hopes were quickly diminished. However, many of these players now have a fresh start under Le Bris.
Three Sunderland players in particular could easily thrive under Le Bris. A potentially key first teamer is Nazariy Rusyn whose first year at the club was one to forget.
The striker only found the net twice as the club’s blunt attack really cost them throughout the season. However, under the new system, there are now hopes that the Ukrainian can find his feet.
Regis Le Bris is known to make an instant impact
Throughout many of his coaching roles, Le Bris has made an instant impact on his team. This was best seen when he first took over as the Lorient first-team manager. In his first 10 games in the 2022/23 season, he won eight, only losing once.
At the start of the campaign, he also oversaw an eight-game unbeaten run which put the club in an excellent position to reach their goals.
In the Championship, a fast start is vital to a successful campaign. If Le Bris can repeat this success, it could easily lead to the Black Cats finishing in the playoffs by the season’s end.
He has a track record of success
Throughout his coaching career, Le Bris has always found success. As a youth coach at Rennes, he guided the Under 19s to a league title and a cup.
This was then followed up at Lorient, with an Under 17s league title before being appointed as manager of the Lorient B side.
Here, Le Bris impressed again which eventually saw him rise to become the first-team manager. While this did end in dismay, throughout over two decades of coaching, Le Bris has mainly found success, which only spells good things for the Sunderland faithful.
Read more: Every key date for Sunderland’s 2024/25 campaign.
Regis Le Bris is a big-game manager
One eye-catching factor from Le Bris’ time in France was his ability to raise his squad’s game for bigger opposition.
Despite only taking charge for two seasons at Lorient, the manager oversaw plenty of sensational victories against incredible teams.
In his first season, he almost knocked out second-place Lens out of their national cup, only losing on penalties. He also shocked PSG as he masterminded a 3-1 victory at the Parc des Princes before they went on to win the title.
The following campaign, despite eventually going down, he earned another point against PSG as well as went unbeaten against second-place Monaco.
Sunderland board trust has shown trust in the appointment
One major factor for any successful appointment is the relationship between the manager and the board.
Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, it became clear that Sunderland’s owners did not trust Michael Beale to fix the club’s issues which resulted in him being sacked after just 12 games.
However, despite taking such a long time to appoint a new permanent head coach, it is clear that there is some level of trust already in place.
Le Bris signed a three-year deal with the Black Cats. This is the longest contract given to a newly appointed manager since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori became the co-owners of Sunderland AFC in May 2023 as well as the longest under sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.
This could allow Le Bris a bit of breathing room to get things right in his first few months rather than the club causing further upheaval.