Sunderland fell to a 1-0 defeat against Hull City on Saturday lunchtime

Régis Le Bris says he will consider freshening up his Sunderland XI in the coming weeks after admitting that fatigue looked to be a factor as the club’s unbeaten home record came to an end on Saturday.

Anthony Patterson’s own goal midway through the first half proved to be the difference, with the Black Cats well short of their best. They have now won just one of their last four home league games, which has been crucial to them dropping off the top-two pace.

Le Bris admits that visiting sides now have something of a template to frustrate the Black Cats and that he will consider changes in the coming games.

“I think this is the case, especially after a goal,” Le Bris said.

“It's not just our problem, I think this problem is very difficult to solve for any team when you have to break down a low block. We tried, we had many crosses from the right side in particular. Maybe we weren't accurate enough, maybe we just didn't have enough bodies in the box, we will have to analyse this properly. It's a question of small details which can make the difference and today we weren't able to manage it.

“For some players there is probably now the opportunity to help the team and to be connected with the shared project,” Le Bris added.

“It's a long journey with many games to play and I hope we can find some solutions. We'll see if some of these players are ready, because I think they will get some opportunities in the coming weeks. With young players, they still need time to develop and the main question here is the level of the team. To be competitive in the top six is different to the middle of the table, where you can make mistakes and learn from them. But at this level, mistakes are different because the consequences are significant. We will have to manage this situation.”

"It's possible there's some fatigue [with some of our players,” he added.

“It was our 34th game today and we have had a small squad, so we can understand that we can have a low point in our dynamic. The players tried, it wasn't enough today for sure. We have to recover a little to build a good shape for the last stage of the season.

"The main question is the ambition, because we know to be at this level we will play many games. It's a new experience for some of players, not the number of games but the number of games at this [high] level to be competitive at the top of the table. It's a new ambition and you have to sustain the level. It's not just the way you play the games but the way you train, the way you recover, the way you are connected with everything. I hope we'll get this reaction in the next few days."

Sunderland are back in action when they face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough next Friday, before back-to-back home games against Cardiff City and Preston North End.

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