Sunderland boss reveals his message for Wilson Isidor as 'new' striker situation develops

Régis Le Bris says Eliezer Mayenda is playing his way into contention for more regular starts on Wearside but believes that Wilson Isidor will benefit from his spell on the bench.

Isidor returned to the starting XI on Tuesday night as the Black Cats were held to a 1-1 draw by Preston North End at the Stadium of Light, having been used as an impact substitute in the previous two fixtures. Mayenda has taken his chance to impress in some style, scoring crucial goals on both of those starts against Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City.

Earlier this year, Le Bris had described Mayenda's situation at the club as 'perfect', with the 19-year-old learning his trade primarily as an impact substitute. The Sunderland head coach admits the striking pecking order at the club is no longer quite so straightforward, but added that his recent decisions do not change how important Isidor is to how his plans for the run-in.

"Yeah I agree, it's a new situation," Le Bris said.

"We spoke earlier in this press conference about new experiences for the team, for the players... the conditions change and they have to experience this. Sometimes they can deal efficiently with the challenge, sometimes it is harder. But we can discuss it, talk about, learn from it. I agree this is a new one right now.

"I still trust Wilson 100%," he added.

"It is like Riggy, for example, sometimes you just need one, two, three weeks to rest and to recover. This can be really useful for Wilson. It's not a positive for him as an experience because they want to play, score, be the main man... so I know it is not a pleasure for him but at the same time it is going to be useful for him. I still trust Wilson 100%."

Le Bris appears likely to return to a 4-3-3 system at Coventry City, meaning one of Mayenda and Isidor will likely have to settle for a place on the bench.

Sunderland injury update of Coventry City clash

Sunderland could name an unchanged squad for the trip to Coventry City, though Le Bris revealed on Thursday that Leo Hjelde had emerged as a injury doubt.

"It could be that Leo is not available and he needs a few days to rest,” Le Bris said.

“It is only a small injury but we will see for Saturday. Otherwise, there are no new worries.”

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