FC Lorient owner delivers interesting relegation verdict on new Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris

FC Lorient owner Loic Fery has discussed last season’s relegation under Régis Le Bris - and has taken responsibility for mistakes made at boardroom level.

The French club were relegated from Ligue 1 last campaign after a disastrous season in the top-flight under Sunderland’s new head coach Le Bris.

Frey, however, blamed decisions made by himself at the top of the club, rather than anything done by former head coach Le Bris, who has now signed a three-year deal to manage Sunderland in the Championship this season.

“We had the eighth-largest budget in Ligue 1 and we spent €60 million on player acquisitions over the last three transfer windows,” Fery said about Lorient’s 2023-24 relegation season. “As chairman and owner, I take primary responsibility for that.

“In fifteen years at FC Lorient, I’ve never chosen the players. I validate choices and I take responsibility for them. You’d never know it if all you had to do was put money into a football club to make it work. I don’t think it was beneficial to the way the club operates. I accept my responsibility.

“What I wouldn’t do again is abolish the post of general manager and put the responsibility for recruitment, as well as responsibility for the first team, on the coach. I don’t think the club listened closely enough to the group because there was no longer a safety valve. The positions of sporting director and general manager have disappeared over the last two years,” the Lorient chairman concluded via L’Equipe and Roker Report.