Regis Le Bris: The Frenchman transforming Sunderland into promotion contenders.

After narrowly missing out on a play-off final spot in 22/23 under Tony Mowbray, the Black Cats spent last season on the manager merry-go-round – with Mowbray’s sacking being followed by a dismal 12-game run for Michael Beale, and the interim manager Mike Dodds leading them to a disappointing 16th place finish. Eventually, in June 2024, Regis Le Bris flew in from Lorient to be unveiled as the club’s latest manager, a new era for Mackems to get excited about. We’re still relatively early into Le Bris’ tenure, but it has been plain sailing so far, with no signs to show Sunderland plan to slow down in their pursuit for promotion, be it automatically or through the play-offs. But who is Regis Le Bris, and how did he end up at the Stadium of Light?

Regis had a modest playing career, after a promising start as a defender for French national youth teams, and spending 5 years at Rennes, he never reached 100 domestic appearances in his playing career. Moving into coaching at an early age, Le Bris spent over a decade in youth coaching before taking charge of his first men’s team in 2022. Le Bris spent 2 years at FC Lorient, after many with the youth team, and there were a mixed emotions surrounding his tenure at the Breton club.

The first season was a success, the club had been recently promoted in 2020, and they finished an impressive 10th in Ligue 1, bringing players like Enzo Le Fée to the forefront, and gaining many plaudits in the process. Unfortunately, Les Merlus’ success didn’t carry on into the following season, being narrowly relegated to Ligue 2. Despite this, Le Bris was quickly snapped up by Sunderland.

Sunderland have some fantastic young talent at the club, with none other than the Real Madrid star’s little brother, Jobe Bellingham, becoming a standout player this season. Le Bris’ extensive experience coaching youth teams pointed towards him being a candidate that can get a lot out of the current Sunderland squad, with 21 year old Romaine Mundle, 22 year old Dan Neil, and of course, 17 year old starlet Chris Rigg all playing important roles so far this campaign. Le Bris has utilised this youthful exuberance to inject some energy into the Black Cat’s XI, especially out-of-possession, a strategy that bodes well for drumming up an atmosphere from the 40,000 fans in a stadium that rivals most premier league grounds, never mind creating an intimidating away day in the championship. As a result, Sunderland have scored 17% more goals at home this season.

Sunderland currently sit 4th in the table, comfortably en route to a play-off spot, although there is a long way to go. A lot of Sunderland’s success has come through their well-drilled yet fluid midfield, these young players clearly have a solid understanding of their roles, combining structure and patience with being expressive at the right moments. Similar to his brother, Bellingham can be found popping up in different pockets around the pitch, linking up well with his young teammates, but still finds himself darting forwards, he may wish to have notched just a few more goals himself so far this season, having only scored 2, but the team overall has put away a very tidy 29 goals.

Le Bris’ appointment and success so far is just one example of the new era of championship football. Many of those who don’t watch the English second divison might cling onto the wet-windy-night-in-Stoke-esque stereotypes of big men, poor conditions, and route one football. However, the quality of football in the championship has been steadily evolving over recent years and is getting to stage where it rivals many other European top divisions. Le Bris joins the baggies’ Carlos Corberán, Boro’s Michael Carrick, Leeds’ Daniel Farke, as well as Enzo Maresca and Vincent Kompany from last season, in having championship managers that play high-pressing, expansive, energetic football. Not that there's owt wrong with a bit of direct Allardyce-ball!

Energy out-of-possession; structured in build-up; exciting young players; and a fortress at the Stadium of Light. Jusqu’ici tout va bien (so far, so good) for Regis Le Bris, but in this unpredictable league with many games to go, especially with a busy Christmas period to come, Sunderland fans won’t get too carried away just yet.