Sunderland: Plymouth Argyle still plaguing Regis Le Bris and Alan Browne - View | OneFootball

The Black Cats suffered their first defeat of the season against the Pilgrims, and it is still a result that is having an impact on the team.

Sunderland entered the second international break of the season as the leaders of the Championship, despite failing to win three of their last five matches.

Defeats to first Plymouth Argyle and then Watford knocked supporters for six, as their momentum looked to have slowed, but a win over Derby County and a bizarre last minute equaliser against promotion rivals Leeds United, have seen them recover from these previous disappointments.

The one-week stoppage gives Regis Le Bris the opportunity to rally his troops and work out how Sunderland will attack their next run of games before the final international break of 2024 in mid-November.

However, lessons will have to be learned from their losses, and while some may have moved on already, as is the fast-paced nature of professional football, it does seem as though the agonisingly late defeat to Plymouth in September is still playing on the minds of those at the Stadium of Light over a month later.

Alan Browne and Le Bris still seem keen to mention the Plymouth result

While they have played a further four matches since the defeat at Home Park to Wayne Rooney's Plymouth side, there still seems to be an element of that result sticking in the minds of both Le Bris and midfielder Alan Browne.

The former Preston North End man played the final 20 minutes of the match, and could do nothing to stop either Joe Edwards or Ryan Hardie from scoring the goals to give the Devonshire-based club victory on the day.

It was a performance that showed a little bit of naivety from a relatively young Sunderland side, and while it was disappointing for the Black Cats to lose, it can also be used as a huge learning curve.

Reflecting on how the team came back from the last international break, manager Le Bris said to the club's media: "After the last international break, we lost at Plymouth and our second half wasn’t good.

"So we have that experience in our mind. We will want to play a better game."

Similarly, Browne mentioned the 3-2 loss in his own interview: "We’ve got a few things we can learn from going back to the last break.

"We went to Plymouth after that and came away with nothing so we’ll definitely be reflecting on a few games we’ve had in between and seeing what we can do to improve. Hopefully we’ll have a better start after the break."

Sunderland must not falter against another lower side in Hull City

The Black Cats return to Championship action on Sunday 20 October away to Hull City, who have started to pick up after an awkward start to the season.

Although it has been tough for Tim Walter since taking over at the MKM Stadium, on their day they can be a tough opposition for anybody in the division, and have picked up three wins in their last four matches.

A crushing 4-0 defeat to Norwich City has halted their momentum for the time being, but with the international break allowing them to reset, there is no reason that they cannot cause Sunderland issues in their clash.

It's another big test for Le Bris and his young side, and a positive result in Humberside will only prove to the rest of their Championship their promotion credentials as they look to forget that potentially season-defining defeat to Plymouth.