Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has delivered his verdict on the Millwall win, as well as one considerable improvement since the Coventry City loss.
Sunderland beat Millwall at the weekend, a crucial victory that saw Trai Hume bag the decisive goal.
Prior to the clash with Alex Neil’s Millwall, Sunderland found themselves somewhat up against the cosh, but the extended break for some players during the international break appeared to pay dividends.
Chris Mepham was brilliant in defence, whilst Hume and Alan Browne played well for Sunderland, despite being out of position at left-back and right-back respectively.
Comparing it to the Coventry City defeat, where Frank Lampard outsmarted Regis Le Bris’ side, there was a considerable improvement, and the French boss noticed a clear area that was much better for Sunderland in their win against Millwall.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris discusses the ‘first step’ for improvement after Millwall victory
Prior to the international break, there were many concerns surrounding the character of the players going int such a pivotal stage of the 2024/25 Championship season, as whilst Sunderland already have a foot in the door of the play-offs, they will still need to gather momentum to ensure they go into the crucial clashes at the end of the campaign in form.
Mepham emphasised the need for Sunderland to hit form at the business end of the season, and Le Bris has now reiterated these thoughts.
Speaking to the official club website, Le Bris said: “The first step today was important because it was more about the team’s behaviour, body language, and willingness to play together as a unit rather than playing impressive football.
“Confidence is important, and when you are struggling, it becomes even more difficult.
“The final part of the season will be very exciting.
“The games will be very tight, and we now need to improve our level in every phase and every individual duel on the pitch. This will be our main goal for the next few weeks.”
Regis Le Bris has his priorities sorted ahead of business end of the season
Sunderland, with seven games left to play, are massive outsiders for automatic promotion, and also find themselves comfortably in the top six, a position that Millwall and former Black Cats boss Neil described as ‘difficult’.
Because of this, mentality can sometimes go out of the window, but it is refreshing to see Le Bris prioritise this in the final run-in of the campaign, that way they will be the most prepared for the play-offs at the end of the season.
In recent weeks, mentality has been an issue amongst this squad, but the Millwall game was the sign that fans called out for to suggest that it hopefully won’t be a prominent worry for the next few weeks.