Sunderland hired Regis Le Bris during the summer, ending a four month wait for a permanent manager. But hiring a new assistant took some time.
When Sunderland appointed Regis Le Bris during the summer, there was inevitably a lot of talk about who he’d choose to bring with him to the Stadium of Light.
But there’d be another four month wait for an appointment on Wearside, with Sunderland hiring Pedro Ribeiro as an assistant first-team coach in October.
Now, Le Bris’ Sunderland backroom staff looks settled, with previous interim boss Mike Dodds still a huge part of that.
The Black Cats are performing well and currently sit in 1st place of the Championship table despite last weekend’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Coventry City.
Le Bris is proving to be the perfect fit for Sunderland who eyed up a lot of managers during the summer, including QPR boss Marti Cifuentes.
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Former Sunderland manager target Marti Cifuentes struggling at QPR, could soon be replaced
Sunderland were linked with Cifuentes quite heavily at one point in the summer. But it seemed as though the Sunderland owners didn’t want to pay out his compensation fee at QPR.
Since, Cifuentes has really struggled with QPR who sit in last place of the Championship table right now.
Subsequently, reports have emerged claiming that Cifuentes could soon be replaced in West London, and someone who Le Bris knows well could replace him.
L’Equipe state that former Liverpool Gregory Vignal could now replace Cifuentes, and that he attended Sunderland’s 0-0 draw against QPR earlier in November.
The same report states that Vignal ‘had been close to joining Le Bris’ staff at Sunderland’ before Ribeiro arrived at the Stadium of Light.
Vignal has had spells working with Rangers, Montpellier, Marseille, Dundee, and Versailles, and holds a UEFA Pro License badge.
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What Marti Cifuentes said about Sunderland manager links
Cifuentes steered QPR to Championship safety last season, doing so in style and attracting the interest of Sunderland.
But Cifuentes quickly distanced himself from the rumours, saying: “It means people value what you are doing but this was a team effort. I am very focused on QPR and excited about the future.”
At the time, it was reported that Sunderland would’ve had to pay a six-figure compensation fee for Cifuentes, which the Black Cats clearly weren’t keen on doing so.
Either way, appointing Le Bris has proven to be a masterstroke, with Sunderland having made huge improvements on last season.