Forget reputation, Regis Le Bris will be judged on one thing alone at Sunderland

So it wasn’t Frank Lampard, Liam Rosenoir, Will Still, Rene Maric, Paul Heckingbottom, Marti Cifuentes, or a host of others.

Sunderland finally ended their hunt for a manager by landing on someone that, with respect to Regis Le Bris, nobody outside of these shores had ever heard of. It might be the case that a lot of Sunderland fans are underwhelmed by the appointment. They can be forgiven for that.

French newspaper Ouest France featured a long story where they recall that, despite his very good start as a manager at FC Lorient, he lived through some tough times at the club in the past couple of seasons.

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In January 2023, the French club were understood to have started selling their best attacking players. Le Bris is reported to have gone public to claim they wouldn’t be able to compete with such a weakened squad. It’s said they never really recovered from that episode, nor did his relationship with the club’s hierarchy. His time with the club ended at the end of last season with French reports claiming he lost support from fans, and was booed in the final game of the season, and it led him to leave the club through the back door.

Still was said to be the main target for Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus but the French connection still won the day with the appointment of Le Bris. There are already suggestions that a proportion of Black Cats fans aren’t overly enamoured with Le Bris taking over the reins. Others are saying the fanbase must get behind the new man and at least give him a chance.

That certainly wasn’t the case with Michael Beale who was never afforded that courtesy. Le Bris has already made the right noises in that respect, saying he wants to embrace the culture and the city and have an immediate identity with supporters.

He will start his job on July 1 and be immediately embroiled in the transfer market, in particular trying to keep hold of the club’s best players although he is unlikely to have any influence on Jack Clarke’s position. The signs are he will leave for the Premier League.

Le Bris is a man who will have to work within the parameters of the club’s ethos and youth will continue to play a big part in that. It will be interesting to see just how well he does.

In fairness to him, he may not be well known but that will matter little if he gets results and is able to get the best out of, what is at the moment, a squad full of young talent. That is what he will be judged on and winning at home would be a bonus.

The last time Sunderland picked up three points on home soil was on February 10 under Beale. Seven games followed at the Stadium of Light without a victory in sight – with five of those games ending in defeat. Things can only get better. That is the hope, at least.

And Sunderland fans will be eager to see whether the new man has what it takes to handle what is undoubtedly one of the tougher managerial jobs in English football given the sheer expectation levels from one of the nation’s biggest and most passionate fanbases.