Sunderland boss explains his surprise Dan Ballard decision and delivers verdict on impressive debut

Régis Le Bris praised Chris Mepham for his excellent Sunderland debut on Saturday and says it is a huge boost to the squad.

Le Bris confirmed that he made the decision to bring Mepham in for his full debut for fitness reasons, with Dan Ballard unable to train this week after picking up an ankle knock at Plymouth. Ballard was introduced in stoppage time and made one excellent challenge as Sunderland held on to their 1-0 lead, but the quality of Mepham's performance will hand Le Bris a big selection dilemma in the weeks ahead.

It's one that he is very happy to have.

“It wasn’t a tactical decision, I made it because Dan didn’t train during the week," Le Bris said.

"We knew that Chris was ready, and with his experience, he was a good player for us to bring in. It is a possibility now to play with Luke and Mepham, Luke and Ballard or Ballard and Mepham. All of those things are possible now, so it is going to be interesting for us to work that out.

“I am very happy for him [Mepham], and for us as well because this kind of player is very interesting and important because of his experience. He is older, but he still wanted to come to the club and connect with his team-mates. He wants to be part of the model, and he agreed to come here. Sometimes, when some of the younger players around him get excited, he can reduce the tempo and give some advice to help his team-mates.”

Sunderland are back in action against Watford next Saturday.