Sunderland took their time before hiring Regis Le Bris in the summer. But the wit has been worth it so far.
Sunderland were without a permanent manger in place for four months over the summer following the sacking of Michael Beale back in February.
Mike Dodds oversaw matters from then until the end of the season. But after a 16th place finish in the Championship table, a new boss couldn’t come soon enough.
After a long wait, with many names linked and seemingly close to the job, only for the move to fall through, Sunderland appointed Regis Le Bris; the relatively unknown Frenchman who’s rapidly become a favourite at the Stadium of Light.
He has Sunderland in 2nd place of the table after an impressive 1-0 win vs Middlesbrough last time out, having set up the Black Cats for what could be a very promising campaign.
But one name who was linked with the Sunderland job over the summer, but took another job, is already under the spotlight.
Steve Cooper enduring torrid Leicester City start
Sunderland were linked with Steve Cooper over the summer. The Welshman was available after being sacked by Nottingham Forest but eventually landed the Leicester City job.
It was revealed to Sunderland AFC News that Cooper and Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has a mutual appreciation for each other, with many fans at the time thinking Cooper was a safe potential appointment.
But after five games of the 2024/25 Premier League season, Leicester City are winless. They beat Walsall 1-0 in the Carabao Cup in midweek and the poor performance sparked outrage from Foxes fans both at the game and online.
The Athletic’s Rob Tanner posted on X:
Patience paying off for Sunderland under Regis Le Bris
Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman were really facing criticism during the summer. After missing out on both Will Still and Liam Rosenior, criticism reached its high, with Le Bris arriving shortly after.
The jury was largely out on Le Bris and indeed the hierarchy until a few games into this season. But all seems to have been forgiven with Le Bris working wonders, and with Speakman having done well in the transfer market.
Cooper may well have been an equally solid appointment, with the Leicester City job having looked like a really difficult one long before he even took it on.
But he remains a good manager and if he is sacked at the King Power then he’ll no doubt have plenty of interest from teams like Sunderland in the Championship.