Régis Le Bris' desire for constant improvement is a blessing for Sunderland

Today at 02:00 AM

Le Bris has come into Sunderland and got us flying, and his determination for his team to improve at every turn is addictive.

Standing on the touchline in his hoodie and trainers, Sunderland have a head coach who comes across as quiet and unassuming.

Régis Le Bris was appointed during a summer in which the fans were hopeful of the club moving back up through the gears, and twelve games into the 2024/2025 season, the Frenchman is overseeing a start to a campaign that we've not seen on Wearside for years.

The simple stats of nine wins, just two defeats, and twenty three goals scored with just nine conceded tells you what you need to know. The quality of performances and goals provides an idea of what Le Bris has instilled in this team, and exemplifies how this squad is brimming with talent.

The touchline mannerisms of Le Bris make for interesting watching, and the best contrast we've had this season was during the 0-1 win at Hull City.

Tigers boss Tim Walter was a flurry of anger and frustration whenever the camera panned to him, whereas Le Bris was as calm and collected as ever. It's been nice to see him allow himself a fist bump on the final whistle every now and again, but even this is something he seems to do sparingly.

Full time against Oxford saw him turn straight to his opposite number Des Buckingham before getting plenty of hugs from his players. There are no over the top emotions with Le Bris, and from a fans' perspective, he's a brooding Frenchman who's obsessed with fine-tuning the project he's piecing together on Wearside.

One of the traits of a head coach who's determined to be successful is a refusal to stop improving. The 2-0 win against Oxford was possibly our most comfortable so far, but it was refreshing to hear once again Le Bris come out and say that we should've scored at least one more in the first half.

He also talked of improved maturity within the squad and also highlighted how well the players can switch game plans during a match. These are factors that Le Bris has helped to build on within this squad, adding that we need to reset and move on to a tricky game down at QPR on Saturday.

There were doubts when he was given the Sunderland job, with people either pretending they knew about him and were underwhelmed, and others seemingly concerned about his arrival as a relative footballing unknown.

However, during the summer of 2024, Sunderland didn't need to walk down the dreary path of recruiting a well-known coach whose ideas had been tried and failed elsewhere.

There was always going to be an element of risk in recruiting a man who'd never coached in England before, but in a dozen games this season, Le Bris hasn't looked close to being out of his depth.

Backed by a recruitment team that's earning itself some credit after some ropey signings in the last twelve months, Le Bris is showing that his addictive passion for continuous improvement and his nerdy obsession with making us incredible to watch makes him an ideal fit for Sunderland AFC and the identity we're creating for ourselves in 2024.