Why Sunderland's important appointment might not be the last and Kristjaan Speakman's next key tasks explained
Sunderland confirmed the appointment of a new assistant head coach this week
The addition of Pedro Ribeiro to Régis Le Bris's Sunderland staff marks a welcome step forward as the club looks to give their head coach the best chance of succeeding both this season and beyond.
Like his predecessor Michael Beale, Le Bris arrived at the club on his own and the fear was that this could leave him isolated in the same way Beale appeared during his brief tenure. A wider restructure of the coaching staff was expected but it has been a protracted process, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman revealing last month that a move had fallen through at the final hurdle in the early stages of the campaign. The decision was then made to pause the process to focus on the final stages of the transfer window, restarting in recent weeks and ending with the appointment of Ribeiro. It's also fair to say that the ease with which Le Bris slotted into the existing structure, and the strength with which Sunderland started the campaign, allowed the club the luxury of patience in their search.
Ribeiro is of course a club appointment as much as Le Bris's. Le Bris led the interview process and had the final say on who he wished to take the role, but all candidates had to demonstrate their ability and willingness to operate within the club's strategy. In the statement confirming his arrival, Speakman spoke of Ribeiro's extensive experience in the game and his 'alignment' with the playing style as key reasons for his appointment.
It could well be that Ribeiro is not the last appointment to the first-team staff. In his first press conference back in June, Le Bris said said that the appointment of an assistant head coach could be followed by others. He mentioned set pieces and individual player development as examples of areas where he could eventually look to add more specialise expertise, and Speakman himself hinted at such an approach when speaking to local media last month.
"We will pick that process back up and hopefully find one or maybe more people to come and join the team," he said ahead of Ribeiro's arrival.
"There are other first-team members of staff that we are adding to that pool that’s not in the assistant bracket, but that we also think, from a psychological perspective, are going to help us with what we’re doing. It’s a constant process for us to keep trying to improve.”
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Sunderland are likely to allow Ribeiro and the new structure time to settle before assessing how its working and whether further reinforcements are necessary. The key tasks for Speakman in the upcoming weeks will be stepping up the preparations for a January transfer window that is drawing ever closer, and stepping up contract talks with some key figures in the squad. Both Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin will be heading into the final 18 months of their current deals at the turn of the year, and greater security would be a huge boost for the club as it looks to build on a strong start to the campaign.