'Concentration!' – Gus Poyet issues message to Régis Le Bris and Sunderland players ahead of Wear-Tyne derby
Gus Poyet has sent a message to Régis Le Bris and his Sunderland players ahead of the Wear-Tyne derby, urging control and composure
Former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has issued a message to Régis Le Bris and his squad ahead of Sunday’s Wear-Tyne derby, urging calm heads, emotional control and leadership on the biggest stage.
Poyet, speaking to Roker Report’s Ha’way The Podcast ahead of the Premier League reunion between the two North East rivals, reflected on his own experience navigating derby pressure – including three consecutive victories over Newcastle during his time on Wearside.
Poyet was appointed Sunderland boss in October 2013. After just 11 days, he managed the club for the first time, losing 4–0 away at Swansea. His second game, and first at the Stadium of Light, immediately wrote his name into Wearside folklore – a 2–1 win against Newcastle United, beginning what would become a remarkable run in the fixture.
During his spell in charge, Poyet guided Sunderland to a League Cup final after a dramatic semi-final shootout win over Manchester United and later masterminded a 2–1 victory at Stamford Bridge, handing José Mourinho his first home Premier League defeat. He also delivered what he famously called “a miracle”, hauling Sunderland from seven points adrift to Premier League safety in 2014 by taking 13 points from their final five league games. He signed a two-year extension that summer before leaving the club in March 2015.
With derby day now returning to Wearside under a new era, Poyet says the fundamentals remain the same. He explained, when asked what advice he would offer Le Bris and his Sunderland squad: “Yeah, it’s very difficult, especially when you have players that you know that normally, in a normal game, they’re already passionate enough. But in this game, they can get over, you know.
“For example, for me, it was very important to control Lee Cattermole, to make sure of that. Lee had an incredible... People don’t know Lee Cattermole personally, okay? And me, I had an image of him from outside. And then when I met him, and then when I started working with him, and I see how much he was embracing what we were giving him and telling him and asking him as a very important player, as in front of the back four and how he embraced that role, and he started doing it day by day.
“You know that when he’s coming to Newcastle, you’re taking a risk with Lee that he’s going to get, you know, over the top and so... So it was, remember your role, remember to do this, to start playing with the ball and the covering and when you had to drop and when not, and that kind of situations.”
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Poyet believes Le Bris’ job on Sunday isn’t to motivate his squad – the derby takes care of that itself – but to stop emotions boiling over and ensure the team can ride swings in momentum. He added: “And then invite the other players to manage their emotions. But concentration was the key. Concentration, start well.
“I think it’s always important to start those games well. And then when you have a bad spell to manage to, you know, to get through that bad spell, because you will. Five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, the other team is going to play well. Very strange that you’re going to go the whole game without any problems.
“Even the 3-0, they have two or three chances naturally. But you need to manage those timings, and you need experienced players to stand up because the youngsters just love it. They play, they run, they go crazy. But the experienced players, like you said, the captain Xhaka is going to be there when to slow down, when to, you know, control the game. So they are very important for us.”