Regis Le Bris sends clear Sunderland message for Derby County test
Regis Le Bris insisted it was “difficult to anticipate Derby’s reaction” as the Rams lost at home to Norwich City having suffered some dubious decisions against them.
The Sunderland head coach is hoping his team bounce back themselves, tomorrow night, after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Watford in the Championship. And he revealed midfielder Alan Browne is fit again and available for selection against Paul Warne’s team even though he does not expect Dan Ballard and Eliezer Mayenda to be fit again until after the international break.
Le Bris is sticking to his mantra of focusing on what his own team can achieve as they adapt to in-game situations and attempt to come up with solutions.
READ MORE:Sunderland star already facing a dilemma over yellow card tightrope
READ MORE:'Daft' mistake, tactical change and positives Sunderland will take into huge week
Speaking about Derby, Le Bris said: “They are another good team with a good dynamic. They are fit, they are physical, they are organised, so if we don’t play well we will have many difficulties. For us the opponent is still strong and I don’t expect any weaknesses. For us, we need to play our best football. Our identity is the main focus and we have to improve many things in our game. Derby will be a different experience and we have to manage all the elements of our game model.”
Looking back at the defeat at Watford he said: “We are disappointed because we lost that game and we want to win every game. We had this first 25 minutes when it was difficult to deal with their offensive shape with our 4-4-2 block.
“We used another shape and it was a good layer for us because this shape of 5-4-1 was interesting and we solved the problem. We went behind and then we dominated that game. In possession we were interesting with many switched plays and good chances. Then we equalised but with this kind of team, with many strong players, they have this ability in one-v-one situations and counter-attacks as well. So at the end we made two mistakes and lost that game.”
Changing shape and being adaptable mid-game is something Le Bris is striving towards and he added: “With new players, you can analyse the opponent’s strengths on screen but on the pitch it’s different as the players can struggle with the next experience. So it’s important that we have in our toolbox many different options that we can use if the first one doesn’t work well.
“This experience against Watford is useful for that. We didn’t win or get a point but it was a shared experience and we are still in the learning process and building formations and this was interesting for that learning.”
Choosing the right strategy during matches is vital and also being efficient so as not to waste energy. Le Bris explained: “We spoke a lot about our identity and it’s clear we want to press high and have many fast attacks in our game. In a single game we can’t use these weapons all the time, we have to choose the right moments, especially like a week with three games in a row.
"This part of the game, we need to have possession and a lower block to control the opponents’ possession. It’s a balance. It’s not always implemented in the game-plan, sometimes you need to use it in real time in the understanding of the game and the momentum. Obviously we need to improve elements of our game.”