Le Bris faces new ‘danger’ with Sunderland star players – Exclusive
Sunderland are now marooned in fourth position in the Championship with little sign of anything changing.
The Black Cats are struggling for consistency which culminated in a 3-0 defeat at Coventry City last time out (15 March), in which they were completely outfought and outthought.
Regis Le Bris regroups his players from the international break towards the end of this week, with Sunderland next facing Millwall at the Stadium of Light (29 March), while sat 11 points behind the top two and 12 ahead of the cut-off outside the play-off spots.
Sunderland warned they cannot ‘coast’ to play-offs
Sunderland have to find some way of improving form to head into the inevitable play-off campaign with some momentum, TV commentator Ian Darke says.
The renowned broadcaster and football analysis expert spoke exclusively to Mackem News, explaining that Sunderland’s deep-rooted position inside the play-off positions is easy reason to “coast”.
Back-to-back wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City had looked to rekindle the Wearsiders’ form, but they have picked up just a point from six available since.
“They’re 12 points clear of sixth, so they’ll be in the play-offs. It’s a tricky job for the manager now with the danger that they coast and then try and peak for the play-offs,” said Darke.
“Keeping the narrative sharp is difficult because the players look at the table. It’s been apparent for a while they’re not getting top two and they’re not finishing below sixth.
“It’s not really beneficial for their play-off hopes in terms of momentum, and Le Bris has to ensure his players peak at the right time.”
Le Bris criticised for recent decisions
For the first time since he arrived at Sunderland, Le Bris has garnered some criticism from sceptical supporters.
Some have accused the Frenchman of not deploying substitutes quickly enough, or starting out-of-form players with a little too much stubbornness.
The Coventry game was a write-off, as other teams have had and tend to experience in a marathon Championship season. But it’s now about the response.
| POS | Championship play-offs – as it stands | PLD | PTS | GD |
| 3 | Burnley | 38 | 78 | +41 |
| 4 | SUNDERLAND | 38 | 69 | +18 |
| 5 | Coventry City | 38 | 59 | +7 |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 57 | +14 |
Fans must remember it’s Le Bris who has helped steer them into the position in which a couple of shoddy results will not affect their play-off hopes. But those fans who still would’ve taken fourth at the start of the year also have an entitlement to dare to dream once in a position to go one better and threaten the top two.
For Sunderland, that is now likely to have evaporated – but the momentum must be there, as it could well be an opponent like Coventry in the semi-finals.