Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has had his say on his sides’ recent difficulties in front of goal.
The Black Cats currently find themselves looking at six games without a win, with the most recent game seeing them fall to a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
Sunderland’s recent issues have seen them particularly struggle in front of goal, with Regis Le Bris’ side bagging just one in their most recent three Championship outings.
Injuries have played their part in hindering the goal output, with Romaine Mundle currently absent, who has played a significant role in notching six goal contributions until his untimely injury set-back.
Le Bris has been questioned about the reasons behind his attackers not performing recently, despite him having a strong frontline of Wilson Isidor, Patrick Roberts and Tommy Watson, and it is something that the French boss isn’t putting down to a ‘lack of confidence’.
- READ MORE: Sunderland predicted lineup vs Stoke City as Dennis Cirkin returns and teenager given chance
Sunderland ‘confidence’ concern amongst attackers answered by Regis Le Bris
Sunderland started the 2024/25 Championship season in prolific form in regards to their abilities in the final third, and that is shown by the fact that they currently sit with the 4th most goals in the league, despite their recent blip.
Whilst squad depth isn’t quite where it should be in terms of giving Le Bris the flexibility to experiment with his side, the current players at his disposal are still at a high quality, but they just can’t seem to offer that tangible product needed to get points on the board.
Le Bris was asked about the struggles in front of goal, to which he didn’t believe was down to ‘confidence’.
In his recent press conference, he said: “I don’t think we have a problem with confidence right now because of the way we are playing. If you watch the game against Sheffield United, there was not a lack of confidence at all.
“It’s more of a question of positive energy and when you win, it’s totally different in your head.
“When you are full of positive energy, you can’t understand why but you can score from everywhere without thinking.”
Regis Le Bris current doesn’t have the tools to solve current attacking problem
It is abruptly clear that the current Sunderland attacking line isn’t quite up to scratch at this moment in time, with that being put down to the lack of ‘positive energy’.
Whilst what seems like a fairly cryptic reason behind the struggles given by Le Bris, it would make sense that this actually means a lack of belief amongst the attackers.
In any given case, this would lead to the manager being proactive with their squad and making necessary changes to the side, however, Le Bris doesn’t have the personnel to do this, nor would he likely do it either even if the injuries weren’t so widespread.
Le Bris must be wary of not over-utilising the current players that aren’t coming out with much tangible product, and it is clear that a rest could do them the world of good, it is just a key issue that there simply isn’t the depth to do so.