Phil Smith: The big hints about Sunderland's future under Régis Le Bris and Kristjaan Speakman

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Régis Le Bris held his first official press conference on Wednesday while Kristjaan Speakman also spoke to reporters

As a general rule, it's best not to draw too many conclusions from the first press conference of any new era.

Many who had been on the north east patch for years had been blown away by Chris Coleman's introduction in 2017, but Sunderland's season would only go from bad to worse. That period more than any other stands a firm reminder that any head coach, any manager, can only succeed if the environment and structure around them is right. That's arguably even more true now than it was then, in an era where Régis Le Bris is as head coach just one cog in a much bigger wheel when it comes to matters such as recruitment and the like. It's also true that it is far easier to be aligned in an interview process, and much harder to maintain that when the pressure and reality of a demanding season or transfer window bites.

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Even so, Le Bris arrived on Wearside as something of an unknown quantity with just seasons as a senior head coach under his belt, and to hear him talk through his vision for the club and most importantly for the team moving forward was instructive.

Most notable was Le Bris' clear hints on the style of play he was looking to implement on Wearside. Le Bris spoke about an approach tailored to the club and the fans, in this case designed to try and energise and maximise the impact of the always huge Stadium of Light crowds. A high-press style and rapid attacks look set to be non-negotiable. Asked about his coaching influences, Le Bris said that there were many but the two that sprung to mind were Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and Roberto De Zerbi at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk. He would quickly go on to add that Sunderland would not play like this but it is clear that the three-man defence and mostly counter-attacking style he deployed at FC Lorient last season was more about circumstance than preference. Sunderland will at least start out with a four-man defence and it seems safe to infer that the standoff style that developed in the second half of the season will be a thing of the past. There was one major caveat to this, with Le Bris noting that it is a long season and that the schedule will demand some balance and adaptation along the way. It felt all the same like a clear line in the sand, music to the ears of fans who had grown so disillusioned and left so bemused by the collapse in Sunderland's fearless approach over the second half of last season.

Listening to Le Bris hold court, it also quickly became apparent why Kyril Louis-Dreyfus had been so keen on this appointment. Louis-Dreyfus' now infamous comment about wanting to implement a 'high-performance culture' following Tony Mowbray's departure spoke to his obsession with the kind of environment he wants to build behind the scenes at the Academy of Light. Le Bris shares that obsession with the detail of the coaching, the methodology on the training ground and the tactical approach. Will that mean more points on the board next season? Not necessarily, but it might perhaps mean a more harmonious working relationship with the sporting director and owner than Le Bris' predecessors have enjoyed.

From both Le Bris and Kristjaan Speakman, there were also some interesting insights into their next steps in the weeks ahead. Work to recruit new additions to the backroom staff is ongoing and while the final call on an assistant will be Le Bris's, he will not be bringing staff with him who worked at FC Lorient. Both also confirmed that the club were looking to add some Championship experience to the squad this summer, players who could in Le Bris' words 'pilot' what is an otherwise young squad through the rigours of the long season. A significant player sale could not be ruled out entirely by either but Le Bris said he had been left assured by the club's ambitions in his talks with the club hierarchy before taking the job, and Speakman reiterated that there was no desire to sell top talent. On that, this current regime has a broadly very strong record and so while one major exit is possible, there should be some reassurance that there will be no fire sale. Sunderland's goal in the transfer window this summer is for a more limited, targeted approach to add genuine quality to their starting XI - an approach that very obviously means keeping the spine of the team together even amid significant interest from the top tier.

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Le Bris is clearly a deep thinker about the game and left you with the strong sense that he has a calm approach that will enable to deal with the emotional rollercoaster that is managing Sunderland ('we need to deal with depression, it's our job and I'm ready' was one of the more notable quotes). Will he succeed? Well that depends on so many things, whether Sunderland can indeed retain those better players and whether they can finally provide their head coach with the kind of firepower that is needed to turn good performances into results. Whether he can establish a rapport with the players he is only just getting to know and whether he can get those tactical messages across with clarity.

Though it would be best not to make any sweeping predictions before a ball has been kicked, it is fair to say that it does at least feel as if the page has been turned on what proved to be a bitterly disappointing 2023/24 campaign. It's a start.

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