Sunderland boss on 'sized for promotion' Leeds United ahead of reunion with 'very good' Whites man
Régis Le Bris says Leeds United will present a 'new experience' for his Sunderland side that will need to be managed intelligently.
His Black Cats side sit top of the Championship table and three points ahead of fifth-placed Leeds. Sunderland have scored the most goals in the division and boast the joint-best goal difference. They have a perfect record of four wins from four at the Stadium of Light, where they are yet to concede a goal.
But according to Le Bris, Leeds' strengths mean that Sunderland will have to balance a desire to play their own brand of football with the need to avoid naivety against one of the best sides in the Championship.
“We know this is a strong team that is sized for promotion,” said Le Bris. “They have many strengths. In possession, out of possession, counter attacks. It will be a good challenge for us because we need to respect every team, whether they are at the bottom or at the top because every game is difficult to win. That game will be difficult to win and we will need to manage it with intelligence as well because we don’t want to be naïve but we want to play with our identity so this is a new experience. It’s very useful for our growth and development. It’s a new challenge with new problems to solve for sure.”
Leeds’ ability to hit teams quickly on the break is something Le Bris is particularly wary of. “For sure they’re a strong team, “he said. “With the ability to manage different phases very well, especially counter attack, when they recover the ball they are so quick to create chances. When we have the ball, this phase, just after the loss, could be one of the main points or the key point of that game. Still the same idea, the game can go in a way or another way with just one decision, sometimes ours, theirs’, the referee’s, many things could happen.”
Le Bris, who was installed as manager at the Stadium of Light in the summer, came from French side Lorient, where he encountered a teenage Illan Meslier. He described the Leeds man as a ‘very good goalkeeper’ during his press conference to preview the fixture. The pair will now reunite amid what is expected to be a feverish atmosphere given the game's importance - even if it does come too early in the season to be seen as particularly enlightening in regards to the promotion picture. The Black Cats boss wants the home fans to leave their mark on the contest and impact Farke's Leeds players.
“It’s the case at Sunderland to have this energy behind us, because of the way we want to play, we want to create that link with the crowd," he said. “Sometimes with high pressure, a tackle, a different positive action out of possession, we can feel this energy behind us and if we feel it, then the opponent feels it as well. The momentum can sometimes be created or reinforced but we need to have this energy.”