What Sunderland’s rivals have said about their season so far - including Leeds United & Sheffield Wednesday

Sunderland are flying high at the top of the Championship table with an impressive 31 points from 15 games - in a run which has marked one of the club’s best ever starts to a league season.

Regis Le Bris arrived over the summer and had inherited a Sunderland team that had just finished 16th in the Championship after a dreadful end to the season which saw the team pick up just 16 points in their first five months of 2024. Yet he now boasts one of the strongest teams in the entire division, with youngsters like Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, Wilson Isidor and Romaine Mundle all thriving along with more experienced heads such as Luke O’Nien and Chris Mepham.

Sunderland have lost just twice in their opening 15 matches in a sensational start to the campaign, but a run of three consecutive draws has allowed the likes of Leeds United and Sheffield United to begin to bridge the gap at the summit. But what have Sunderland’s opposing managers made of the job that Regis Le Bris has done so far as well as the way that the Black Cats are playing? Here’s all you need to know.

‘It's a huge difference’ - Danny Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl’s Owls side were thrashed 4-0 by Sunderland on match day two in a difficult day for his team at the Stadium of Light.

Rohl said: “In the last game Sunderland were in no man's land. When I saw today the performance from Clarke and compared it with the last game here, it's a huge difference. I told him this after the game, it was a great performance, we saw your quality, if you play like this always you'll go to the next level.

“It's not my job to tell him this but I did. Today, we didn't really get into the game. After 10 minutes you have a feeling as a manager, if you are making the runs, if you are sharp enough, today it was a bit off. I take responsibility and hopefully, I'll take the right things from this game and prepare my team for a strong fight against Leeds.”

‘You get punished by good sides’ - John Mousinho, Portsmouth

Sunderland started the season with four consecutive victories and were in formidable form in front of goal when they defeated Portsmouth 3-1 at Fratton Park. After the match, John Mousinho expressed his disappointment but conceded that Sunderland were the better team on the day.

He said: "Sunderland thoroughly deserved to win and I’m disappointed to lose the game. "There was only very small margins in it I thought, we played quite well up until the goal but there were small bits in the second half we didn’t get quite right.

"You get punished by good sides like this, I think there was lots of small moments that once added up created a gulf between the two sides, it’s nothing I don’t think we can bridge at some point but we have to be better than that."

‘One of the best pass-and-move sides I’ve seen’ - Tom Cleverley, Watford

Watford became just the second team to beat Sunderland this season when they earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory against the Black Cats.

After the win, Thomas Cleverley waxed lyrical about Sunderland’s strengths and how proud he was of his team to get a positive result. He said: “You always want to kick on and be as assertive as we were against Stoke, but Sunderland are a good side. They’re one of the best pass-and-move sides I’ve seen, with rotations and with young players who can take the ball. 

“We saw that at the end of last season, and it was a similar sort of performance from them today, particularly the way they dominated the ball in the second half. I think we limited them to far less clear-cut chances today.”

‘We played against an excellent side’ - Daniel Farke, Leeds United

Sunderland scored a last gasp equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw against promotion favourites Leeds United in a hugely entertaining night of football. Prior to the game, Sunderland had not conceded a home goal, and Daniel Farke even admitted that he would have been happy to take a draw before kick-off. However, he explained the manner of the equaliser was tough to take.

He said: “We played against an excellent side who were there just with wins here at home. Not one other team has scored a goal so far against them and to deliver such a performance, we would have definitely deserved to win all three points. 

“Yes, and then to lose two points in the last moment of the game in this way is heartbreaking and again, it's tough to take and it feels a bit like a loss. Before the game we would have said a draw or something like that is a really, really good result. But I also have to say, as much as it hurts also myself, it’s probably the proudest day of the season, because of how the lads have delivered today under such difficult circumstances was excellent.”

‘Top for a reason’ - Des Buckingham, Oxford United

Sunderland cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory against Oxford United at the Stadium of Light with Jobe Bellingham and Wilson Isidor scoring in either half. After the game, Des Buckingham praised the quality of Sunderland’s performance and described their display as something which showcased the quality of the Championship.

He explained: “That’s a top team that are in top form at the moment, at home, showcasing what this level of competition is. “We can try to set ourselves up to come here and do what we can - and we’ll do that - but when you come up against teams like that, that can happen. “That can be the reality of this league. They are at the top of the table for a reason.”