Régis Le Bris defends key Sunderland selection decision after frustrating Watford draw

Régis Le Bris says Sunderland need to be patient with their returning players after the frustrating 2-2 draw with Watford.

Le Bris suffered a setback in the build up the game when Jobe Bellingham was ruled out with a minor ankle injury, forcing a reshuffle after the excellent performance at Middlesbrough on Monday night. Le Bris opted against bringing Eliezer Mayenda into the side, maintaining Sunderland’s 4-3-3 formation and instead selecting Salis Abdul Samed.

The Sunderland head coach believes it is the right decision to stick with the system that has brought the Black Cats so much success this season and says it is important to be patient with Samed as he returns from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“I think we have created a consistency with our structure,” Le Bris said.

“We have used a 4-4-2 sometimes but the best balance for me in our team is built around a 4-3-3 in possession with the three midfielders. That becomes a 4-4-2 out of possession, I think this has been the best balance for us. We can use a different shape at our times but we wanted to play with out best balance, which has been three midfielders.

“It's always a question of building different steps. It's not easy for Salis to find his best rhythm after six months out, we need time. Ian will also need time. So it's a question of building new layers, and to be consistent will take patience. We want to be dominant but it is never easy to keep this dynamic for a long period.”

Ian Poveda also made his second appearance of the week from the bench, with Le Bris hopeful that he begin have to a greater impact as he gets more minutes under his belt.

Le Bris said: “Ian has good qualities but he has not played for a long period so when he came in against Middlesbrough for example, he had an opportunity [to score] and this was a good reminder to show that at this level of competition, we have to be humble because even if you are very talented it is tough to build a good connection with this competition.

“This was another step for Ian today and so I hope that he will be better and better in the future.”

Régis Le Bris explains his late Sunderland substitution

Le Bris also said his decision to bring on Dan Ballard in place of Chris Mepham for the closing minutes of the game was a purely tactical decision to try and exploit the significant number of set pieces the home side were winning.

Le Bris said: “It was just a question of physicality. We know that Dan is very dominant in the air and maybe at the end of the game, we knew we would have many set pieces and we felt that this could be a good option. I think it was the right decision.”

Sunderland return to action when they face Luton Town at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday night.

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