He took the team into the Championship and brought them to the cups at the first try. Now he is a candidate for manager of the year: “A pride, but it is an achievement to be shared with the group. And now we don’t want to set limits…”
From a salvation that as a newly promoted team knew it was a difficult, if not impossible, mission, to a place in the next Europa League. Sunderland’s horizon has changed so much in 2025-26, transformed into a cake wonderfully cooked by manager Regis Le Bris whose icing is the seventh place finish, ahead of Chelsea and Newcastle, their all-time rivals.
Regis Le Bris
Sunderland manager
After two seasons at the helm of Lorient, in France, he arrived at Sunderland in 2024, immediately winning promotion to the Premier League
There is a lot of the 50-year-old manager, a debutant in the Premier League like many of his players, in this which is one of the most sensational feats of the English season.
Mr. Le Bris, did you expect it to end like this?
“Our goal in the last match was to beat Chelsea, the only result that would have taken us to Europe. Then in injury time an assistant told me that we were seventh in the table: I didn’t believe it. It was impressive and unexpected, also because in the last two matches it wasn’t just up to us. We were very consistent at the end of the season, we grew as a team: for me as a coach it was the perfect ending.”
Have you ever talked about Europe in your locker room conversations?
“The players perhaps yes, but not me personally. Before the match against Nottingham Forest we were in a good moment and people around the club began to talk about Europe. Then we lost 5-0, at home, one of the worst defeats ever in the Premier League for the club. It was like returning to reality, it made us understand that if we had started to dream we would have had problems, because this league doesn’t forgive you anything. We just had to concentrate on the next match. As much as it hurts, sometimes it’s better to lose badly once: it helped us change mentality”
What made the difference for this historic season?
“Identity and improvements. It all starts with our identity: the way we want things to work in this club is clear to everyone, from the owner to the sporting director, from the coach to everyone who works for Sunderland. We need clarity in knowing how we want to build our performances, which players we want to sign, how we want the team to be managed in negative and positive moments. This clarity has allowed our transfer market to work well: we signed 14 new players last summer, our clarity of ideas has allowed us to create a group.”
Your market is held up as an example.
“Players don’t wear the ‘Premier League’ label until they prove they’re worth it: it’s one of the reasons why many clubs prefer to buy in the English market, to take experienced players. We, even with a higher budget, would never have been able to take 14 new players from the English market, so we went abroad”
Where did you find Granit Xhaka…
“A decidedly right signing, in terms of experience and the level at which he plays. He’s 34 years old but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player with so much talent and so much experience. And then he’s a fantastic leader: when you have these three qualities in the same player, he also helps others because he dictates a standard, both every day in training and then on the pitch.”
The most important matches of your season?
“The first against West Ham, our return to the Premier League. Then the two derbies with Newcastle: the first was tense and difficult to play and we won on an own goal; in the second we showed our personality and our improvements. I add the match against Leeds, the one to reach 40 points: from a mental point of view it was perfect. And then the last one against Chelsea, the perfect ending.”
It was your first season in the Premier League too: what did you learn?
“How important it is to continue to be who you are: how you prepare, how you manage the players. I understood that it also works against the best coaches and the best teams in the world. I had many new players this year: for me it was important to make them feel welcome, to make them understand that you would help them not only from a technical point of view, but also to become a group, to settle into the club and the city.”
He did it so well that he was nominated for manager of the year.
“I’m proud of it, but I have to give credit to the collective effort, to the project we worked on every day. I am the name, but it’s the teamwork that made the difference.”
Do you think you went beyond your expectations?
“In this club we don’t want to set limits for ourselves: we want to work with our intensity, work hard and as a team. And then see where this takes us.”
It already seems like the motto for next season…
“Yes. We expect a complicated season, with the second year in the Premier League and then the cup. It’s hard, but this work is always hard, always difficult and that’s why we like it. It will be difficult, but also a chance to grow as a person, as a coach and as a team.”
You will play on Thursday and Sunday, three games a week: what needs to change?
“We will probably have to have another 3-4 players to rotate in our starting team. This year we have practically used 14 players, of which 8-9 are perfect for the Premier League: we will have to add others.”
How important will it be to find experienced reinforcements?
“Leadership is important, but a profile like that of
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