Le Bris slammed over bizarre Sunderland decision – ‘Why on earth?’
Sunderland are falling out of form at the wrong time as the end of the season and a subsequent play-off campaign edges closer.
The Black Cats have had an excellent campaign overall, which led them to secure their play-off spot with plenty of time to spare, taking the pressure off.
However, Regis Le Bris’ side are without a win in five games now and it is leaving questions over how they are going to cope with the big games that lie ahead.
Marco Gabbiadini questions Le Bris
Although Sunderland are sitting safely in the table, fourth in the Championship, their form of late has been poor.
It was a 2-0 loss against Oxford United on Saturday (26 April), a side that have only just secured their stay in the Championship for another season.
| Sunderland’s form | |
| Norwich City (A) | 0-0 |
| Swansea (H) | 0-1 |
| Bristol City (A) | 2-1 |
| Blackburn (H) | 0-1 |
| Oxford (A) | 2-0 |
Their opponents were on top and deserved the win in the game, with the Black Cats failing to register a single shot on target in the 90 minutes.
Le Bris chose to play Enzo Le Fee on the left in his line-up, while Chris Rigg was deployed in the middle of the pitch, behind Wilson Isidor at the top.
However, this clearly didn’t pay off with the lack of attacking threat offered by the North Eastern club and it has left former Sunderland man Marco Gabbiadini with serious questions over the manager.
Speaking live on BBC Radio Newcastle (28 April), he said: “My biggest question would be why on earth isn’t Enzo Le Fee playing in the middle of the pitch?
“He’s the only one really for me who had any sort of gumption about him on Saturday. It was, as I said, a hard watch.”
Sunderland are running out of time
When Sunderland secured their play-off spot, it took a weight off the shoulders of everyone at the Stadium of Light.
However, things have seemingly become too relaxed now and the players are in need of something to pump them up again ahead of the play-offs.
With only one game left to play, which is against QPR, Le Bris has to make sure his side are at the top of their game and return to winning ways to build some momentum going into the most important clashes of the season.
The Black Cats have done well this term but that will mean nothing if they can’t perform on the biggest stage and secure promotion back to the Premier League.
Le Bris hasn’t had to face too much criticism this term but the pressure is on the boss to make sure he guides his side all the way rather than falling at the final hurdle.