Régis Le Bris explains what's going wrong with Sunderland defensively and reveals dressing-room message

Régis Le Bris said he reminded his Sunderland players of what is required in the dressing-room debrief after their 5-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

The Black Cats found themselves trailing by four goals at half time after a dismal start to the game, conceding three times from set plays in just over 20 minutes. Sunderland did improve somewhat in the second half and were unfortunate to have a goal ruled out by VAR, but remained second best and conceded a fifth when Elliot Anderson scored in stoppage time.

Sunderland's players led the initial debrief after full time, with Le Bris adding his thoughts afterwards.

"They started together in the dressing room which is important, because they are aware of the situation and we talk about responsibility," Le Bris said.

After that, it's important to set the narrative as well and say where we are and who are we. It wasn't the face we want to show, I repeat, this was not Sunderland and we have shown it before but today it wasn't the case.

"We absolutely have a lot to play for and we want to be competitive every game. That wasn't the case today which is hard to digest and explain. We'll analyse the game deeply and try to go forward because we have another game next week."

Sunderland have now conceded nine goals in two games, the main reason why their defensive record has worsened considerably through the second half of the campaign. Le Bris believes the manner of the goals conceded on Friday night was very different to a week previous, but feels both stem from the team dropping their levels slightly out of possession.

"It was a mixed feeling after Villa," Le Bris said.

"We showed good things but were also under the level we expected in many areas and saw the first signs of what happened today. It's important to reset and accept the level is high and it's always a big challenge to win games.

"It's complex with different explanations.

"Today, I think if you analyse the game we conceded from set-pieces and making mistakes, those two phases were not at the level today.

"Against Villa we conceded four goals as well but it was a bit different. It's probably a question of mentality and togetherness, to be humble at this moment of the season and to stay level because this league is so demanding, if you drop your standards just by 5 or 10 per cent, it can finish quickly."

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RLB: Sunderland first-half collapse ‘hurts’

“It hurts, it's painful, because it's not the face we want to show, so for the players, I think it was like a punch in their face, and for me as well,” Le Bris said.

“After that, you can't complain, you can't look for excuses, you just have to go forward, and in the second half, this was our ambition, at least fight, at least show that you have a strong energy, you are proud to be a Sunderland player, and our fans were behind us, to be fair, so they were probably better than us today, and we tried to change the dynamic in the second half, we didn't give up, which is the minimum.“

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