Phil Smith's tour diary: Régis Le Bris has tricky Sunderland balance to strike in Poland

It has been a long few days of recrimination and it's fair to say no little anxiety on Wearside after that dismal defeat to Bournemouth on the south coast.

Noah Sadiki's late winner in Leiria had been an iconic moment for generations of fans who had waited a lifetime to see their team on the road in Europe, but that dismal opening 20 minutes at the Vitality Stadium was a pretty brutal reality check. It leaves Régis Le Bris with a tricky balance to strike as Sunderland face Lech Poznan on Thursday evening, as it is clear that the ultimate priority for the club is now a huge Premier League clash against Leeds United on Sunday.

Yet the Sunderland head coach also knows that it will do little for the mood on Wearside if they fall to another disappointing result in Poland, and that the confidence in the dressing room will not benefit from a disjointed performance. Though he gave little away in his pre-match press conference other than to confirm that Brian Brobbey would not be risked, it seemed fair to surmise from his comments that he'll take a similar approach to last week with perhaps one or two more senior heads in from the start. Lech Poznan have lost their first two league phase games 4-0, but against strong Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen sides. They will be desperate to get on the board here in front of their home crowd and are again going very well in the league, so Sunderland will be braced for a different and in all likelihood bigger threat than they faced in Leiria.

For the travelling fans, this is perhaps a little more like what they expected when Sunderland qualified for Europa back in May. The trip to Portugal was quite simply a dream come true, temperatures in the high twenties and with Leiria's main square a sea of red, white and Elvis-inspired pink. In truth, it felt a little more like a pre-season party than a big European game right up until the moment Volnei arrowed that stunning effort into the top corner.

Here there will be a hostile home crowd, tifos and flares and a hold back in the ground after the game. It is forecast for temperatures to drip and for the rain to be relentless through much of Thursday, an experience perhaps a touch more traditionally Europa League.

Though there will be acceptance from Sunderland fans that Sunday is the priority, there will also be a demand that the players respond from the Bournemouth defeat and more broadly to not let the poor recent league form take away from the latest adventure in this potentially once-in-a-generation journey. For many who have made the trip, the cost and logistical difficulties of last week's game might well mean this is their first experience of seeing Sunderland in Europe. It is too early to write this competition or any of the games within it off, and quite rightly so. This is still very much a moment to savour.

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