Sunderland have appointed Pedro Ribeiro as a new Assistant Head Coach to Regis Le Bris.
Sunderland and Regis Le Bris have finally added a new name to their coaching staff, after several months of looking for one.
Le Bris welcomes former Porto, Fenerbahce, and Olympiacos assistant Pedro Ribeiro, who joins as an Assistant Head Coach.
The club say that he’ll work closely alongside Le Bris and Mike Dodds, who shares the same title at the Stadium of Light, as well as first-team coach Michael Proctor.
Sunderland appoint Pedro Ribeiro as Assistant Head Coach
The news has gone down positively. The fact that Ribeiro has taken a while to get here shows us that the Sunderland owners, Le Bris and Kristjaan Speakman did their due diligence in finding a new coach.
Fans are largely impressed by Ribeiro’s experience and excited by the potential he could bring to the club as a whole.
Comments from Sunderland fans on social media read from ‘seems like a good appointment’, to ‘the final piece of the promotion jigsaw’.
One interesting comment from a Sunderland fan read: “This bloke must be good, Speakman must have interviewed 100s to get the right man.
“Hopefully it doesn’t disrupt the changing room, because at the minute the players are listening to the people in charge.”
Meanwhile, a few are talking about what Ribeiro’s arrival might mean for Dodds, whose poor interim tenure last season has made him quite a divisive figure among fans.
One fan posted ‘no more Dodds as assistant, it’s over’, whilst another added ‘this can only be bad news for Dodds’.
Meanwhile, one Sunderland fans defended Dodds, posting: “As much as Dodds is getting stick here, he has been the Assistant Coach that has accompanied Le Bris to top of the pile.”
Mike Dodds’ role won’t change, but added pressure with Pedro Ribeiro
Per Sunderland’s announcement of Ribeiro, Dodds will remain in his position, and will work closely with Ribeiro, Le Bris, and Proctor.
But Ribeiro’s arrival may certainly point towards Dodds’ responsibilities being lessened. And the added competition could ultimately push Dodds into a change of direction should he want more responsibilities in coaching, or even a management job himself.
Either way, competition within the coaching staff is positive. It gives Le Bris another someone to bounce ideas off, whilst keeping the likes of Dodds on his toes.