Regis Le Bris’ stuttering Sunderland, during a run of six Championship games without a win, have looked like a team in dire need of inspiration.
Because, while the Black Cats can still point to the league’s joint-third best defensive record, the goals have dried up at the other end.
As Sunderland lost 1-0 at Sheffield United on Friday night, another blank in the final third took their tally to just three goals in those six matches. A record Regis Le Bris puts down to wastefulness, as well as a few key absences.
He highlights the loss of Romain Mundle as one key contributor as to why a team who found goals so easy to come by earlier in the campaign are struggling now. Mundle missed the 1-1 draw with Millwall, the stalemate with West Brom, and that trip to Bramall Lane.
The winger will also be unavailable when Sunderland host Narcis Pelach’s Stoke City on Saturday, Le Bris admitting that Mundle may not return until the end of the year or even after that.
Regis Le Bris rueing Romain Mundle absence for Sunderland
“It’s always difficult to assess what we need to be more efficient,” Le Bris muses, speaking to the media during his Thursday press conference. “The last three games, we have created many chances. More than our opponents. But we have only won two points, which is not good.
“It’s a question of collective dynamics, improving many details. But not only that, it is [about which players are] available. Players like Romaine are able to score with small chances, so he is important.
“But he is not available and we have to deal with that.
“We won’t wait for him [to return]. We have many elements to develop in the team. The only focus we should have is creating and converting more chances. We have the potential and the players in the team to do it.”
Mundle’s ability to create something out of very little has certainly been missing in recent weeks.
Take his stunning finish in the 2-1 win at Luton Town, for instance. Mundle cutting inside onto his trusty right foot and bending a wonderful winner into the far corner, securing Sunderland a win that – on current form – they would struggle to replicate.
Tommy Watson and Patrick Roberts must step up as Le Bris wants more goals
The good news is that Le Bris has Tommy Watson ready to stake his claim again in Mundle’s favoured left-wing spot against Stoke. Watson was Sunderland’s brightest spark at Sheffield United, winning the penalty squandered by Patrick Roberts during the first half.
Roberts has just one goal in 17 Championship appearances this season. Watson, meanwhile, is yet to open his account at senior level.
So, understandably, Le Bris is asking his Mundle-shorn frontline to step up and prove that they can be counted on to produce the goods as Sunderland look to secure a first win in seven.
“The final [third] is the most difficult area,” the Frenchman adds. “The goal is not big. It’s not only the two wingers though, or the striker [who we need to score goals]. It could be the two [number] eights or [through] our set pieces.
“We have many options to score. We talk about our striker a lot, but we have scored 27 goals and it is not just the striker or winger. Its a question of responsibility and taking risks.
“We have to master many elements in training and take confidence from what we are able to do.”