Regis Le Bris: The manager masterminding Sunderland’s season

It is fair to say that when Sunderland announced the appointment of Le Bris in June 2024, underwhelmed was the overriding emotion.

It had taken three months to find a permanent replacement for Michael Beale and the club had come up with a man who had just been relegated from Ligue 1 in France with Lorient.

But with the Black Cats ending an eight-year exile from the top flight by beating Coventry in the play-off final, that has turned to immense pride among the club’s support.

“The fans love him,” said BBC Radio Newcastle’s Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes.

“The results are the first things that win them over, so he has achieved that.

“But they also see that he is a genuinely nice guy with a nice demeanour about him. In public and in press conferences, he smiles, he can crack a joke, he’s very patient and I think people have responded to that.”

With a doctorate in sport physiology and biomechanics to his name, Le Bris is not your typical manager. His popularity on Wearside meant that a trip to the seafront at Roker early on in his tenure caught him by surprise when he was mobbed by fans.

Learning his lesson, this calm and considered character has since sneaked in to Newcastle on occasion to enjoy an evening out.

However, it is at the Academy of Light where this student of football is in his element.

“Regis is a bit shy, but he’s very personable and he has a wry sense of humour and he’s become a bit more comfortable in his own skin,” said Barnes.

“He is very, very focused. He seems to spend his life immersed in the job. He jokingly refers to being at his happiest in front of his laptop, watching matches.

“He purposely learnt English to come to this country to make a name for himself and you could argue he has done that.”