Régis Le Bris explains his surprise Salis Abdul Samed decision after Sunderland's draw with Plymouth

Régis Le Bris says his decision to give Salis Abdul Samed his first Sunderland start will benefit the club in their push for promotion.

Sunderland dropped two crucial points in their push for automatic promotion when they hosted bottom-of-the-league Plymouth Argyle at the Stadium of Light, with substitute Nathanael Ogbeta scoring a stoppage-time equaliser. The Black Cats laboured in the first half and many fans were left surprised by the decision to hand the RC Lens loanee his full debut in a game where the hosts needed to force the issue against a low block. The change saw Eliezer Mayenda, who had scored a crucial goal against Derby County in midweek, drop to the bench.

Samed was withdrawn after an hour, shortly after Wilson Isidor had equalised for the home side, after which the visitors created a number of chances. That did in part vindicate Le Bris’s decision but afterwards he admitted that it may not have been the best call. He remains convinced, however, that it will bolster Sunderland’s promotion aspirations in the long run.

“For the last part of the season, we need more depth in our squad,” Le Bris said.

“Now we have more players available and to be connected with the team, you need to play. They need to experience this competition and after that they can learn, analyse their performances and then prove their level. It is very important for the last sprint to have 17, 18 players at their best level so we have many different options. At the end of this game maybe we can say it is not the best [decision], I don't know, we can't rewrite history. For me, it was a good experience for what are building. We know that when we are not at our best, it is possible to lose to a team struggling in our league.”

Le Bris confirmed that he had opted to rest Chris Rigg, with the 17-year-old not included in the starting XI.

“We spoke before the game about it,” he said.

“After the injury he had, he started very quickly when he came back and he really helped the team. But he is still young and we need to create depth in our squad. Players need time to find their best level.”