Regis Le Bris sat down in front of the press on Thursday afternoon, speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Coventry City on Saturday.
Sunderland head to the CBS Arena to take on an in form Coventry City side this weekend. Frank Lampard’s side sit in 6th place of the Championship table after a sublime run of form in 2025.
But they’re still 13 points behind the Black Cats, even despite Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Preston North End on Tuesday night.
So far in 2025, Sunderland have won seven of 13 games. But there’s still a lingering sense that the Black Cats will certainly miss out on the top two, and perhaps struggle in the play-offs, should they qualify.
The likes of Coventry and even Tony Mowbray’s West Brom in 5th could take much better form into the play-offs and eventually undo all the good work that Le Bris and Sunderland have done this season.
But Sunderland could regain form themselves. Much like striker Eliezer Mayenda has done in the last few weeks.
Regis Le Bris asked difficult Eliezer Mayenda question, he failed to answer
Mayenda started alongside Wilson Isidor against Preston. The Spaniard was impressing whilst Frenchman Isidor was failing to provide the spark. But Le Bris decided to bring Mayenda off in the second half: to the surprise of fans, pundits, and Mayenda too.
Gary Bennett spotted that Mayenda was visibly ‘unhappy’ with being brought off as Isidor was left on the pitch. In his Thursday presser, Le Bris was asked directly how Mayenda felt about being brought off, but instead of answering, he discussed the dynamic of the game instead.
His answer was: “It wasn’t our best game so far. We had a specific opponent and it’s really tough to control the game against Preston. They are a well rounded team in the Championship.” It continued like that for a couple of minutes, with no mention of Mayenda.
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Maybe Le Bris didn’t want to create a scene by confirming that Mayenda was unhappy at being brought off. Or maybe he didn’t want to admit that he got the decision wrong, which many fans think he did.
But all will quickly move on and for Le Bris, Coventry is a tough game for sure, and who to pick out of Mayenda and Isidor is an equally tough dilemma for the Sunderland boss.
After the Preston performance, expect a return to a one-striker formation. And right now Mayenda is the man in form. Speaking after Preston, Bennett summed it up best by saying Mayenda is the striker who works the channels, whereas Isidor needs chances put on a plate.
Bennett’s verdict on Mayenda and Isidor after Preston read: “You look at Mayenda, the shift that he put in. I thought he worked hard. I think at times he caused them problems, and then you look at Wilson Isidor, and I just thought that he struggled to get into the game.
“It’s as though you’ve got to create the opportunities. Basically, you’ve got to put it on the spot for him to finish. It’s not as though he’s going to work down the channels or work the opportunity for him to score.”
Sunderland’s game against Coventry City kicks off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.