Sunderland were beaten 1-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday

Régis Le Bris has confirmed that Chris Rigg was not included in the Sunderland squad at Fulham for tactical reasons.

Rigg was the surprise absentee from the squad following Omar Alderete's return from concussion, though he did travel to Craven Cottage with the team. Le Bris opted for the additional defensive cover on his bench, with Sunderland again lining up in a back five.

"Yeah, we had 21 players available today which is good, so we don't have many injuries now and after that I have to make a choice," Le Bris said.

Le Bris also revealed he had told his players he was unimpressed by the fracas that broke out on the pitch at the end of the game, with players and staff from both sides involved. Though it wasn't clear what started the melee, backroom staff from both clubs were subsequently shown a yellow card. At the end of the performance where Sunderland had not reached the intensity of many of their performances from this season, Le Bris was unimpressed.

He said: "I don't like fighting at the end because if you still have energy in your tank it means that you didn't push enough, so I don't know what happened before but for me it's not a positive situation."

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

Régis Le Bris explains what he felt went wrong for Sunderland against Fulham

Le Bris delivered his verdict on the game, saying Sunderland didn't do the basics well enough.

"It's a good reminder about our basics, if you don't win many duels, if you don't win the second balls, it's not possible to impose something," Le Bris said.

"We struggled to create, we struggled today to manage for example when they went long our man from our press we were not efficient, the intention was really positive, we wanted to impose something defensively but we were not good enough to manage the duels so we had to defend probably around our box just after, probably too often and second balls after their long play as well, so basics are really important in football and if you don't win this part, at least 50-50, you can't impose anything.

"I think it's another good lesson, we have to be at our best, otherwise the opponent can exploit their strength."

Your next Sunderland read: Phil Smith's Sunderland player ratings vs Fulham with 5s and 6s for 'laboured' Black Cats