Régis Le Bris reveals interesting Sunderland set-piece discussions and sends message to dressing room
Sunderland have seen a decline in their set piece performance at both ends of the pitch of late
Régis Le Bris has told the Sunderland dressing room that last week's heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest is a reminder that they cannot afford to stop taking set pieces seriously.
Sunderland were 4-0 down at half time to Vitor Pereira's side, having conceded on three separate occasions from set plays. Two were from short corners and one was from a free kick, with Igor Jesus left unmarked at the back post on each occasion. Set pieces were a key strength for Sunderland through the first half of the campaign at both ends of the pitch, but they have struggled noticeably in recent weeks.
Ahead of the club's trip to face Wolves at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, Le Bris said Sunderland needed to adapt and become flexible. He also made clear that recent weeks needed to act as a wake-up call as to the importance of set plays in the Premier League.
“We have had conversations this week about this topic [set-pieces], Le Bris said.
"We spoke about corner kicks because we conceded two goals on that phase against Forest. Villa hit the bar in the mid-zone of the area, against Forest the problem was at the back post. Against Fulham at home, we were exposed in the mid-zone too, conceded one goal and also gave away a big chance just before half-time. Against Forest, it was at the back post, so the opponents are evolving as well. It’s like a game. We are probably struggling at the minute because we had a good structure, but this structure has to be flexible. Depending on the way the opponent is working, you have to be able to adapt. Sometimes, they can have a target but not deliver properly. But against Forest, the delivery was perfect from Hutchinson, really good, they hit what they wanted to do exactly and we didn’t react properly.
“The players like having the ball," Le Bris added.
"The build-up under pressure, the attacking phase, counter-press, zone defence, we are okay. The high press too. But when we speak about set-pieces, it’s often a bit different. We have to involve them in the process and maybe a big event like this helps to convince them to pay attention. Otherwise, there is going to be a big problem."
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RLB confirms attacking set piece rethink
Le Bris also confirmed that Sunderland were reviewing their approach to attacking set plays, potentially using the long throw slightly less now that teams appeared to have adapted from the opening weeks of the campaign.
“We’re probably a bit less dangerous from that [long throws] now," Le Bris said.
"We are still talking about small numbers though. Sometimes, it can still help to create chaos. We’ve had a conversation about how we can generate momentum, or not, through set-pieces. At the beginning of the season, we took our time over every set-piece – stop the game, set up, then we will see. But sometimes, that is not always the right choice. Maybe it’s more appropriate to keep the flow of the game, don’t play this set-piece that way. It’s always a balance because the opponents are working hard as well.”
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