HE IS the “boring” gaffer with the master plan at the Stadium of Light.
Tight-lipped Regis Le Bris may still be playing it cool, but his red-and-white Sunderland machine are ready to launch MISSION EUROPE.
Victory over Newcastle on December 14 left the Mackems flying high in seventh.
That famous triumph not only capped a stunning start to life back in the Premier League but, for many experts, would also be the highlight of their campaign.
While fans dared to dream of trips to the continent next season, a winter of discontent had been forecasted by many outside Wearside.
Within 24 hours of that derby delight, six of Le Bris’ men were on the plane to Morocco for African Cup of Nations duty, leaving the quiet French coach with a depleted army for the festive period.
Despite the predicted storm coming their way, the bold Black Cats weathered it, suffering just one defeat in six without their AFCON aces.
Now with Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi returning after the latter’s Senegal beat the former’s Morocco in last Sunday’s controversial final, all of Le Bris’ boys are back in town for the trip to West Ham.
And they are ready to build on the victory over Crystal Palace by bursting West Ham’s bubble to mount their charge for European football… not that their manager will admit it yet.
Parrot-like Le Bris, whose side could move to 36 points and climb into fifth with a win at the London Stadium, repeated: “Our first target remains the same. I might be boring, but it’s always the same: we want to reach 40 points as soon as possible.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
“I’m not sure if that will be enough, but that’s our first target, and then we’ll see if we can go further.
“At the beginning of the season, and before the AFCON as well, I said I didn’t want to set a limit or an objective because we don’t know. What we can control is how we work every day and the ambition we want to have against the top six and every team in this league.”
Even though the manager is still singing from the survival hymn sheet, at least goalkeeper Robin Roefs confessed the squad feel differently.
The Dutch star, a revelation since his £11.5m summer arrival from NEC Nijmegen, admitted: “Yes, we feel we can do something really special, even at the start of the season everyone was really positive. No-one was talking about just doing enough to stay up. Our ambition was not just to survive. All of us wanted more.”
His compatriot Brian Brobbey will be the man tasked with downing the Hammers after two goals in his last four. On the £17.5m striker, a deadline day arrival from Ajax, Le Bris said: “He’s still young, 23, and new to the league. Some players are well-rounded from the beginning, but Brian needs minutes. The more he plays, the better he’ll be.”
Ivory Coast winger Jocelin Ta Bi has already come in this month in a £3m deal but it is the return of 22-year-old midfielder Diarra that Le Bris is most looking forward to.
A groin injury in September has restricted him to just five Sunderland appearances following his club-record £30m signing from Strasbourg in July.
But after his displays at AFCON, his club boss said: “It’s almost like a new signing. We know he’s a great player, he’s very young and can play in different positions. At Strasbourg, he played in the middle, as a 6, 8, 10, and even as a winger sometimes. So he’s versatile, strong, and willing to learn, which is positive for us and will create something new.”
