Régis Le Bris sends play-off message to Sunderland fans after fifth defeat in a row against QPR
Sunderland ended the season with a fifth defeat in five games against QPR
Régis Le Bris insists that Sunderland will react in the play-off semi finals after they finished the regular season with a fifth defeat in a row.
The Black Cats were beaten 1-0 by QPR at the Stadium of Light with another poor performance in which they struggled to create chances and work the opposition goalkeeper. The Sunderland head coach insists that his team will be ready to face Coventry City, who sealed fifth place in the table with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.
Asked what he would say to fans pessimistic about their chances in the play-offs, Le Bris said: “I understand but we have to remember where we were one season before.
“This team has shown so many qualities this season, it doesn’t disappear like that [clicks fingers]. It has been a really strange period because we secured this place so early and it was clear that this squad, the youngest in the league with a small core, deserved to recover.
We disturbed the flow of the squad, it’s rhythm and its references so that they could recover and so that we could test some new foundations. But in the end we know our foundations as a team. We know what works and what is positive for us, we know in our heads maybe what options could be good for us in the games. We are clear on our foundations and I think at that level, we are always on the edge, it’s not unusual. The players are ready to react.”
The Sunderland head coach says his team didn’t get their pressing right in the first half and while acknowledging that his players are currently falling short in the final third, he insists fans will see more cutting edge in the play-offs.
“We tried to be aggressive but we didn’t find the right distances and so it was difficult to disturb them in the first half,” Le Bris said.
“In the second half we had the ball but didn’t find the quality to create chances, apart from Ballard’s header.
“It’s true that we are struggling to create but I think it’s connected to the period we are in. We have the same squad that was able earlier to create chances every game, so it’s probably more connected with the period and the context of these games.
We’ll have a full squad available for the play-offs and this is important, sometimes just a question of balance can disturb the whole flow of the game and it will be another chapter. A coach is concerned by everything, this is not knew, but I still believe we have the quality and now we have a new chapter to open.”
