00:00There weren't many scenes like this at the Stadium of Light in the second half of last
00:04season as Son Lund slumped to a 16th place finish in the championship. Much of pre-season
00:11has seen the club attempt to win support back, with Regis Lebris outlining the importance
00:15of the fans and the club working together for success.
00:18We need to share the ideas, we need to share the identity to perform well. So it was the
00:27case in different clubs in France. I liked it. It was the case of Lorient. It was the
00:34case at Saint-Etienne, at Lens. And I think here, at Saint-Denis, we have this power in
00:42the city. And the style of play needs to represent the community to find new energy. If we can
00:54play with 12 players, the pitch is there. And as a player, as a coach, we can feel this
01:01energy.
01:03Ahead of the curtain-raiser, Lebris also spoke of what he has learnt about his squad and
01:08what work is still to be done to make the side competitive for the whole campaign ahead.
01:16I still think that they are talented. They can reach a high level in different phases
01:24of play. But the next element I found during this pre-season is the consistency, really.
01:33Because even this morning during the training session, they can play here, they can play
01:38here. In five seconds. We don't know why at the moment. Maybe it's a question of focus,
01:44maybe it's a question of concentration, of leadership. We are working on it.
01:50Against a vulnerable Cardiff, Sunderland may need to press high to score. But Lebris
01:54emphasised that his side must show quality in all phases throughout the season if they
01:59are to achieve their goal of being contenders for the play-off spots come May.
02:06We can control the game because we are this kind of players. But to perform during the
02:13whole season, we need to be good in different phases, especially on the high press and
02:21the counter-pressing, because I think we will be able to control the game many times.
02:29Cardiff will be a test, but one which Lebris will hope his side will rise to.
02:35The best way to unbalance a team at that moment is when you lose the ball, they try to counter-attack
02:43and if you are able to recover the ball at that moment, they are in balance. I think
02:48it's one of the best moments to score and to create big chances. In our game, it's an
02:56important phase.
