Sunderland Head Coach Régis Le Bris has asked for support from fans as the Black Cats prepare to enter a period of fixture congestion, amidst having several squad injuries. Le Bris also urged caution with regards to talk of promotion. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00The work that has been done at the Academy of Light this season has shaped
00:05Sunderland's campaign so far, with the Black Cats joint top of the championship.
00:10However, the work that will be done over the coming weeks will be even more
00:13crucial, as Reggie Slibris navigates fixture congestion amidst injuries to
00:18his squad. The news that Alan Brown and Romain Mundell will both spend extended
00:23periods on the sideline is a huge blow, meaning that the squad will have to be
00:28utilised in full in order to keep picking up points in important games,
00:32starting with a trip to the Den to face an in-form Millwall side who have beaten
00:36Leeds and Burnley of late. Reggie Slibris spoke of how important a fixture like
00:42this is in the context of the season, especially given who Millwall have
00:46beaten recently, but alluded to the fact that there is still a long way to go.
00:51It's too early, I think, because for a French coach, it's the warm-up. Now we are
01:00going to start the league, really. So I know that the way to go is so
01:08long, but we are building a strong culture, we know that we have many talented
01:14players, they can play as a unit, so at the end our main focus is to improve the
01:20team, to manage the situation with the players we have in the team, and I
01:24believe that they are able to cope with the situation. Sunderland have three
01:29games in seven days, starting with Saturday's match against Millwall, which
01:34will impact training time, so how will Slibris make any necessary tactical
01:38tweaks in between the important fixtures? Sometimes with the repetition of games, you don't
01:46know exactly when something went wrong or went good, and this period is very
01:53interesting for that, and when we have to face a different style of play,
01:56probably the main focus is simply on your game. The worry for Sunderland is
02:03that should they not go up this season, some of their young stars may be prized
02:06away by Premier League clubs, although Slibris was keen to point out that
02:10football can change in an instant, and to focus on the here and the now.
02:16Football is too unpredictable to make some prediction. I think two weeks later,
02:23it's totally different, so two suspensions, two injuries, but I don't know, so in
02:32competition I think it's day by day, only this consideration, and for me it's what
02:37I want to explain to you, to players, to the fans and so on, and enjoy when it's
02:44good, support when it's more difficult, and believe in our game model, in our
02:49structure, in our squad, in our players, because obviously we struggle sometimes,
02:55it's possible.