Regis Le Bris has received high praise from former Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
Mannone spent four years at Sunderland after joining from Arsenal in 2013, making 80 appearances and becoming a hero when he saved two penalties to send them through to the League Cup final.
The 36-year-old left when the Black Cats were relegated and went onto play for the likes of Reading, Monaco and Lorient.
Mannone was signed for Lorient by Le Bris in what was his first summer as head coach.
The shot-stopper made 18 appearances in Ligue 1 as they finished tenth, before joining Lille.
Despite spending minimal time working under Le Bris, Mannone had plenty of good words to say about the Sunderland coach and admitted he was ‘one of the best’ at one thing.
Le Bris is ‘very detailed’ and ‘very deep’
Speaking to the club, Mannone said: “He is a coach that likes to play football.
“When I was with him, I managed to progress myself with certain parts of the game. He is a different kind of coach. He is one of the best at making you progress technically.
“He is thoughtful and he talks well. He is very deep into football. I wouldn’t like to compare it to anyone, but he is very detailed.
“He is a coach that likes to build out from the back, playing football and searching for solutions to beat the opponent. We had tactics for every opponent.
“He made me do stuff that I hadn’t done before so that is a way to progress a player. That goes into every training session. We had to be connected with each other and find new ways to attack. We will see how this works in England and in the Championship.”
Sunderland will appreciate a different approach to the game
Mannone speaks very positively about the 48-year-old, with an emphasis on his tactics and detail.
Le Bris is clearly a brilliant coach and works his team hard in training sessions, getting them to try out new things and putting an emphasis on their development.
His tactical knowledge and outlook seems similar to that of Danny Rohl, who has had huge success at Sheffield Wednesday early on in his managerial career.
This can clearly work in the Championship, but Sunderland will have to adapt and the players will have to be willing to work with it.
There has never been any question of the players’ hard work and commitment, so it seems likely that they should be able to bond very well with Le Bris’ way of working.