Sunderland concluded their pre-season trip to Portugal with a narrow defeat against the Portuguese champions

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris spoke to The Echo after the 1-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon at Estadio Algarve on Monday night.

He reflected on an encouraging performance despite the result and gave an update on the club’s transfer plans, as well as confirming the current injury situation at the club. You can read the full quotes from his discussion with Phil Smith out in Portugal below...

It was probably a better performance than the result? There were some good signs in the first half and then a more inexperienced side competed well?

RLB: “Yeah, absolutely. This game was interesting at this moment of pre-season because we faced a mature, experienced team with strong references together. They are ready to play, they have the Super Cup in a week so they are ready for competition. We faced this structure with good players inside and threats in behind. I think for the goal we conceded, it's important to make this mistake now so that we can fix the problem. We had this problem last season with the switch between man-for-man and zonal defence, so the mistake is necessary to fix this problem. I think in possession, our references were positive, we created many chances. It means that we have the ability to build up play, to be strong and progress through the pitch and now the last question will be the clinical ability. We know this is going to be very important in the Premier League.”

It was another very impressive performance from Jenson Seelt, I thought. What's your assessment of his progress and how this season might look for him?

“I'm very happy to have him for this whole pre-season because he missed almost all of last season with a big injury. Now he is building good foundations. His physical attributes are interesting and he's a good footballer, really good. We'll see with him. We will see where we are at the end of pre season and we will decide what is the best pathway for him.”

You said you would make an early decision on players and who can be part of your squad this season. So what's the next steps after this trip?

“We knew when we planned these first weeks that we would start with 45,45. We knew this would give everyone this opportunity. Now we will start progressively to reduce the game time for some players so that we can prepare the core of the group for the season. There may be another opportunity for some of these players but progressively, the direction will become clear.”

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Any progress in the transfer market over the last day or so?

“Not really! The market is always tough. A lot of work, a lot of discussions, a lot of conversations behind the scenes. I think our project is really attractive but it is not the only one.”

There's been a lot of talk about the goalkeeper group this summer and speculation about potential signings. Is it fair to say this is a position you're still looking to strengthen?

“Yeah, probably. We want to reinforce the squad with the best players we can, who fit the identity of the club and mentality of the team. It's not easy to do this, it's the same for goalkeeper, striker, pivot... I don't know. Every position is possible. We'll see later whether it is possible [to recruit a player in this position].”

With Romaine Mundle out injured and a deal for a winger falling through, what are the next steps in that position? Are you moving to other targets or will you take stock and assess what you already have first?

“It's fair to say we will have a recruitment to make in this position. Simon has a good background in the Premier League but if he's alone in this position, we'll struggle. Chemsdine is young and has many games but is very young for the Premier League. So we'll need to reinforce this part of the squad. We'll see, because it's not an easy position.”

Some of the football you played in the first half was very good to watch - are you encouraged by how quickly these players are gelling?

“I'm really pleased to be fair, I didn't expect this level of connection at this stage of the season. It's really positive. When we analyse a player, live or on video, it's not easy to know exactly how they'll connect with our players and our principles. And so far, I'm really pleased with their output.”

And you have Enzo - which always gives you a chance, right?

“Yeah. He's playing as a midfielder now, his best position, so for sure we are going to see the best version of Enzo now.”

Regis Le Bris issues Sunderland injury update after Sporting Lisbon defeat

Le Bris also explained that Wilson Isidor and Niall Huggins were left out of Sunderland's squad as a precaution. Wilson Isidor took a whack to his knee in the draw with Sevilla on Saturday but the issue is not serious, while Huggins was rested after a demanding recent schedule. Having missed all of last season through injury, Sunderland want to proceed carefully to give him the best chance of succeeding.

"Wilson took a bit of a kick to his knee in the last game, he trained yesterday but it will a little bit stiff this morning," Le Bris said.

"So we just decided to avoid any risk with this game. I'm not worried at the moment. Then with Niall, he has had eight consecutive days of training and I think the last one was too much. Again, we just decided against a risky situation for him."

Anthony Patterson and Chris Rigg were again absent, but Le Bris says they should be available as Sunderland return to action against Hearts or Hull City over the next week. Reinildo will miss those games as he builds his match fitness. but Sunderland are confident that he will be ready for the start of the season. The former Atletico Madrid defender's season finished considerably later as a result of the Club World Cup.

"For Anthony and Riggy, I think next week they should be available for us if everything progresses as we hope," Le Bris said.

"Reinildo has started a little bit later, so he will need I think maybe one week or ten days to get into his best shape. The foundations need to be laid and then he will start the full training sessions and come into the games."

Your next Sunderland read: How all 23 Sunderland players fared in narrow Sporting Lisbon defeat