"Have to stick together" - Three-year claim made on Regis Le Bris at Sunderland AFC | OneFootball

The Frenchman has had an excellent campaign in charge of the Black Cats and he has the opportunity to take them to the Premier League.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sunderland AFC have returned to form after a disappointing February, with back-to-back wins strengthening their grip on fourth place in the Championship.

While a top two finish now looks out of reach, the Black Cats do look incredibly likely to end the campaign in their current position and their full focus will now be on ending the season as strongly as possible ahead of the play-offs.

Few would have predicted the Wearsiders to be in contention for a top six finish in 2024/25 after a tough year last time out, but Regis Le Bris has been able to take his young side to the upper reaches of the league table.

There are high hopes for the future at Sunderland, and with the Frenchman leading them, anything seems possible at this moment in time.

Le Bris predicted to have a long future with Sunderland

With just 10 games to go in the Championship, those at the Stadium of Light will be starting to focus on the play-offs, with the Black Cats just a few weeks away from confirming their place in the top six.

An incredible start to the season has been the key reason behind this success and while they have not been able to maintain those high standards throughout 2025, there is still plenty of quality in the team and a new run of form will help ease any fears about their confidence heading into the next couple of months.

Le Bris has been the key to this, and Football League World has asked their Sunderland Fan Pundit, Jordan Newcombe, if he sees the Frenchman staying at the club in the next three years.

He told FLW: "If he's going to be here for the long haul, I hope he is. It depends on if we get promoted. If I'm being honest, a lot of the things around the club now, whether it's contracts or managerial decisions - it's based off whether we get promoted.

"I don’t see Le Bris being sacked; he’s doing an amazing job. We’re fourth, we went on a run of form where we didn’t lose at home in the league for around 10 months. It's one of those where you look at a manager, and you think this is a manager we can't let go of.

"In my opinion, whether we go up or not, I do think we'll give Le Bris the chance to obviously have another season here, and potentially go for the title next season. When you look at the teams that will go up and then, obviously, you've got Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich. If they all come down, they will fight for promotion again.

"We're going to face a lot of problems. We're going to be up against Jack Clarke again. We're going to be faced with a lot of hassle from Southampton. We're going to be dealt with a lot of issues when it comes to the top three, four teams, and it's going to hurt.

"So, if we can try and get up through the play-offs this year and end up going back to the Premier League and go from there, then happy days. I would rather go into the Prem next season, beat Newcastle twice, take the six points off them and get relegated. I'll be more than happy with that. Obviously, that’s for personal reasons, and it's whether we get promoted or not."

Jordan continued: "I think Le Bris is in it for the long-term. I don't believe he's got all the players he needs yet to build his dream team here to potentially smash the league next season if we don't go up or to try and finish outside the relegation zone in the Premier League.

"It will be a tough league; there’s no doubt about it. But if Southampton can do it and Ipswich can do it, then so can we. It’s one of those things; it's a hard league but anything's possible in football.

"When we were struggling in the Premier League before we got relegated, we still beat Manchester United, we beat Chelsea, and we drew with Manchester City. Throughout the years we've done so many crazy things against the top dogs in the Premier League and I believe we can do it again if we get the right players.

"But obviously it does take time, which again a lot of people don't take into consideration, like no matter what, it takes time. We need to rebuild properly and instead of just going out there taking the multi-millions from brand-new owners and splashing the cash on players that clearly don't improve your squad, because if they don’t, it doesn't last long.

"We don't need to spend big money to have the best players. It's football, anything can happen in 90 minutes."

He concluded: "So, in three years’ time, I potentially still do see Le Bris here, it just depends on how we're going and if we go up really. It just all establishes from where we're going to end up this season. Every little thing matters, and we don't want to lose sight of what’s bad and what's good when it comes to the league and what position we're in and what the results are going to be.

"We all have to stick together. We all have to back the team and the players, no matter what the result is. We’ve all got to be there for the club. We've all got to be there for the players, and we’ve all got to be there for the gaffer.

"It’s just one of those things that we have to do. We need to keep our heads held high and hope for a promising future and I believe Le Bris is going to be the man to do it."

The summer could be a tough one for Le Bris and Sunderland

While there is a lot of positivity at the Stadium of Light right now, the summer does pose a threat for Sunderland and their manager with a host of young talent currently in their ranks.

It could easily lead to an exodus of the core of the squad, especially if Premier League football is missed out on in the play-offs and this will not help Le Bris in the fight next season.

The likes of Chris Rigg, Dennis Cirkin and Jobe Bellingham will be targeted in the transfer window, with all three likely to turn out in the top flight in one way or another in 2025/26.

Nevertheless, Le Bris has already proven his ability to bring in high-quality players, and if he is able to bring in replacements for those who leave, then Sunderland will have an excellent chance of promotion in the next campaign if they miss out this time.