Gus Poyet reveals pre-season Sunderland, Regis Le Bris concerns and drops "intelligent" verdict | OneFootball

Former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has lauded Regis Le Bris for his start to the season

Former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has praised Regis Le Bris for the club's impressive start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign.

Sunderland have enjoyed a white-hot run of early season form, lifting them to second-place in the division after six matches.

The Black Cats claimed victories over Cardiff City, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Portsmouth to ascend to the summit of the Championship heading into this month's international break, and although a shock 3-2 defeat at Plymouth Argyle last weekend knocked them off their perch, they returned to winning ways by seeing off Middlesbrough in a slender 1-0 Tees-Wear Derby affair on Saturday afternoon.

Under the stewardship of French boss Le Bris, Sunderland have blown the league away with an expansive and dynamic brand of counter-attacking football.

Only Millwall and Derby County have recorded a lower possession average than Sunderland's 43.4%, but the side's direct and clinical nature in the final third has seen them rank joint-first for goals per match with 2.2.

Although Sunderland failed to acquire a senior striker across the summer transfer window and lost talismanic winger Jack Clarke to Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman have been vindicated through the performances of Romaine Mundle and Eliezer Mayenda, who have both been among the standouts at the Stadium of Light thus far after taking time to adapt in the previous season.

Gus Poyet's Regis Le Bris, Sunderland verdict

Poyet has taken time to address praise towards Le Bris, which holds merit given his own previous exploits on Wearside.

The former Chelsea and Uruguay midfielder was in charge at Sunderland between 2013 and 2015 and returned a 2-1 victory over fierce rivals Newcastle United in his first bow at the Stadium of Light before executing the great escape to keep the Black Cats in the Premier League that year.

Sunderland found themselves seven points adrift of safety as late as April 7, although they collected 13 points out of a possible 15 in their next five games to secure top-flight survival against all odds. Poyet was sacked in March 2015 and was most recently managing the Greek national side before leaving upon the expiration of his contract earlier this year.

Now, Poyet has exclusively revealed his verdict on Sunderland and Le Bris to Football League World, praising the Frenchman's abilities and their start to the campaign despite holding concerns after watching his former side in pre-season.

"I saw Sunderland in pre-season and I wasn’t sure how they would get on," Poyet told Football League World, via William Hill.

"Fast forward to where we are now and it’s been a very impressive start to the season.

"I really like the way Sunderland are playing, the coach is doing a great job, he is young and intelligent and has the team playing a good brand of football.

"The wins so far have been excellent and they are scoring goals and defensively have looked good."

Sunderland's upcoming Championship matches

Sunderland are well-placed to continue their strong form in their upcoming fixture schedule, which will take in matches against Watford and Derby in the next eight days. Although the two sides have claimed three wins apiece thus far, Le Bris will undoubtedly be targeting victories once again.

Next Friday, though, Sunderland may face their most significant test to date when Leeds United head up to the North East in a crunch showdown, which could already prove to have a bearing on the promotion race.

Gaining a result against Daniel Farke's promotion hopefuls would be yet another statement of intent by the Black Cats, who have laid bare their credentials under Le Bris.

After the Leeds match, Sunderland face back-to-back away trips to Hull City and Luton Town before finishing off October with a home fixture against Oxford United, and they will be hoping to continue to generate plenty of momentum heading into the hectic winter schedule and beyond.