Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on crucial Sunderland win and what pleased him the most
Sunderland won their first game in seven at the Stadium of Light on Saturday
Régis Le Bris praised the persistence of his Sunderland players after they won their first game in seven with a late goal against Stoke City.
Tommy Watson's brace secured a richly-deserved win for the Black Cats, who had fallen behind to a goal from Lewis Koumas but dominated thereafter. Watson had a slice of fortune when his winner was deflected in but the hosts had created the better chances throughout the contest.
Le Bris says it would have been natural for his player's confidence to dwindle in the latter stages but was pleased that did not happen.
"With the weather and the opponent, who played good football, it was difficult," Le Bris said.
"But I think we deserved to win this game. We had many chances to score but we didn't, and we had to wait until the end. We didn't give up and this was the most important idea today because with the last maybe four games, we had the feeling that it was possible to win but we drew or we lost. In the human brain, when you have a sequence like this you can grow doubt in your mind. We had to believe in our qualities because we have a lot, individually and collectively, and today the conditions were there as a reminder to us that nothing comes easily in life or in football.
"We struggled [to score] but in the end we did it and I hope this will start a new dynamic for us. But we have to reset again, because it is another game on Tuesday. We have to enjoy this, because it was a long battle - not just this game but the ones before."
Le Bris praised Watson for a very strong display.
"Tommy was very strong today," Le Bris said.
"He's a very good winger and the way we play is well designed for him, I think. We can find him very quickly and use his main strengths well. Today was a very strong performance."