"Let's start': Régis Le Bris's makes Sunderland priority clear after European qualification
Sunderland’s win over Chelsea ended a remarkable campaign for the Black Cats
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland’s qualification for the Europa League shows ‘anything is possible’ in football.
One year to the day since their late winner against Sheffield United at Wembley, the Black Cats secured a seventh-place finish with a 2-1 win over Club World Cup champions Chelsea.
Le Bris said Sunderland needed to stay humble as they prepare for a challenging campaign with an extended fixture schedule, but that he felt the structure of the club meant they were set up for success. As was the case following promotion, Le Bris said they wouldn’t set any limits or goals for the next campaign.
“It's an important step and it shows that anything is possible in football, especially when you are working hard, representing the community and humble,” he said.
“We struggled at times this season, had a really painful defeat here at home [against Nottingham Forest] and bounced back, worked hard and finally here's the result. We feel the dynamic of the club. We are growing fast but the structure underneath is strong. We can't say it's perfect but we feel we are improving a lot. I repeat we have to stay humble.
“It's going to be new challenges ahead but we won't set a limit before. We'll work hard and we'll see.”
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RLB: The Premier League will be our priority
Le Bris admitted he wasn’t aware Sunderland were set for Europe until the 95th minute of their win over Chelsea, when he was informed that they would be playing in the Europa League if results stayed the same.
They did, and while Le Bris is excited by the prospect he is clear that stabilising in the Premier League will remain the club’s priority.
“It's hard to know at the moment,” Le Bris said.
“It's going to be a new challenge but I don't want to set a limit before. We know it's going to be tough in the Premier League first of all because the second season is hard, so let's start with this idea, to be strong in the Premier League.
“Then after that we'll have the Europa League which is a new challenge and chapter. We'll see. It's a bit early to anticipate what will happen in the summer but it's clear we are well aligned.
“We didn't want to anticipate the result of the season. Now it's done. We have a good structure for the recruitment process and we'll work hard, as usual, and I hope the new lads and this team already will be well connected for the new season.”
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