French insider reveals what 'football educator' Regis Le Bris will bring to Sunderland

New Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris is a 'football educator' who has a pedigree of developing young players - but the new Black Cats boss is still growing as a manager.

There have been many questions from the Sunderland fanbase since the 48-year-old was appointed last week, not least after his previous club Lorient were relegated to the second tier of French football. He is largely unknown in England, but comes with a reputation for getting the best out of youngsters, something which dovetails with Sunderland's strategy.

Le Bris took over at Lorient in the summer of 2022, in his first role in senior management following 19 years experience as an academy coach, and guided them to a 10th-placed finish in Ligue 1. However, last season their form dropped significantly which saw them relegated into the french second tier, finishing second off bottom.

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We sat down with French football podcaster Baptiste Reynaud of the Le Classique podcast and contributor to Ligue 1ms official English speaking podcast - to get the lowdown on Le Bris.

“I think it’s helpful to remember that Le Bris is a football educator first and foremost," Reynaud said of Le Bris. “He likes a young squad and develops them. After years of promise, Enzo Le Fée, for example, finally started to deliver under Le Bris.

“Dango Ouattara was very raw (left winger sold to Bournemouth for €22.5m in January 2023). Julien Ponceau as well. They all started to really develop under Le Bris.

“His Lorient team had a real structure and identity in the way they played and youth development. The negatives are defensively decent in his first season, very poor in his second.”

That defensive record is admittedly a worry for Wearsiders, with Lorient conceding 53 in his first season as boss, then going on to ship 66 last term amid their relegation from Ligue 1.

“What I would say is that when he had good and developing talents in the first six months of his tenure, his team looked really good and progressive," Reynaud added. "When the team struggled, he could have been accused of sticking a bit too much to his principles, but I’d prefer it that way.”

“All in all, still a developing manager but an interesting one. His press conferences were always very erudite too.”