Regis Le Bris details current Sunderland transfer 'plans' amid ongoing promotion bid

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has admitted that the club are currently working on two different recruitment plans ahead of the summer transfer window amid their ongoing bid for promotion back to the Premier League.

At the time of writing, it is still undecided as to which division the Black Cats will be playing next term, with Le Bris’ men set to get their Championship play-off campaign underway with a semi-final first leg clash against Coventry City on Friday evening. The teams will then meet again at the Stadium of Light in a return fixture next Tuesday.

And while Sunderland may not know their fate definitively until the end of May, Le Bris has suggested that the he, alongside sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, are preparing for every eventuality.

What has Regis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s summer recruitment policy?

Addressing Sunderland’s blueprints for the summer transfer window in a press conference, the head coach said: “We're working on two plans [one for the Premier League and one for the Championship]. The main focus is on the play-offs but at the same time we still have a lot to do and speak regularly with Kristjaan, Kyril and the recruitment structure. We have regular meetings, I have one this afternoon for example, it's all part of the process.”

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What has Regis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s upcoming Championship play-off semi-final vs Coventry City?

After it was confirmed that Sunderland will be facing Coventry for a place in this month’s play-off final at Wembley, Le Bris took the time to reflect on the Black Cats’ 3-0 defeat against the Sky Blues back in March - and to explain why it didn’t particularly concern him ahead of Friday’s first leg at the CBS Arena.

He said: "It was a specific period, in this game we were really exhausted and it was the starting point of this period [of rotation]. We felt it was really important to refresh the squad after 36, 37, 38 games, I don't remember exactly. This period is over. Individual mistakes can obviously happen but it wasn't so often this season and I am sure it won't happen again."

Sunderland head into the play-offs off the back of five consecutive Championship losses, but Le Bris has also insisted that he has “no doubt” his players would step up when the pressure is on.

He continued: "For me, I have in my head the games we played against Leeds, Sheffield United and Burnley. These games were 'play-off games' and we always played well in these situations. If it was two, three, four months before, we'll be ready to do it again, I have no doubt about this."

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