Régis Le Bris outlines the style of play Sunderland fans can now expect - and his preferred formation

Régis Le Bris has spelled out his intent to get Sunderland back on the front foot as he begins the pre-season programme with his new players.

Le Bris held his first press conference on Wednesday afternoon and said establishing a clear playing identity was one of his key priorities in the opening weeks of his tenure. The Frenchman addressed his new players on Wednesday morning in which he spoke about the style of play he wished to implement and while he stressed that there would have to be some flexibility across what is a long and demanding Championship season, he said implementing a style that energises the club's huge support is a key priority.

"We spoke about it with the players on Wednesday morning," Le Bris said.

"I believe that the identity of the team must be linked with the history of the club and the city, and the fans. We have to gain their energy and so we want to be a proactive team. That means having an idea in every phase of the game, in defence, attack, counterpressing, set pieces... I explained that it's a question of balance: the Championship [season] is very long, the games are 100 minutes now. The main identity is intensity, so high pressing is very important and so too is the speed of our attacks. But also we have to control the game in other moments, and we have to be able to deal with different circumstances [within games].

"All the players have a style of play. We need to adapt to be able to use their strengths but I think this team can press high, they did well in many games last season but just weren't consistent enough. Also, the technical level is high so we can have fast attack, maybe six, seven, eight passes to reach the goal, but also we can control the game, so it's a question of balance. If we share this intention, we can have a very energetic game and hopefully very exciting for the fans."

Le Bris also confirmed that his preference was to play with a back four, despite operating with a back three for the vast majority of his second season in charge of FC Lorient. While he said he would be adaptable and would respond to the squad he has, he made clear his preferred formation.

"With my experience at Lorient, I had the opportunity to test many systems because of the turnover in players," Le Bris explained.

"I like a 4-4-2 in defence and a 4-3-3 in attack because I think these two systems are very versatile and you can do many things within them in terms of the triangles, the links and the relationships between the players. This could be the first step for the team, from where we can analyse and assess if it works. If not, we can change.

"But the identity of the team is important and it's better to keep a system for a while and to see how it develops, and the areas where you make improvements."