Fish guts, transfer business assessed and tactical insight: Who is Sunderland managerial target Regis Le Bris

The long wait for Sunderland to name a permanent successor to former head coach Michael Beale is almost at an end.

It is over 120 days since the former Rangers boss left his role at the Stadium of Light and left interim manager Mike Dodds to see out the remainder of an underwhelming season - but a new manager could be in place in the near future as talks with Lorient boss Regis Le Bris progressed to an advanced stage in recent days.

As reported by The Echo, Sunderland have been in negotiations over an agreement with the 48-year-old and the Ligue 1 club in recent weeks and have also been working through the paperwork to allow the French boss to work in the UK. The Echo understands Le Bris is now the Black Cats main target to become their new manager and hope to have their new man in charge by the time pre-season training gets underway in two weeks time.

But who is Regis Le Bris and what do we know about the man who could lead Sunderland into the new Championship season?

What has Le Bris achieved in his managerial career?

First and foremost, Sunderland supporters will want to know just how much success their potential new manager achieved during his time in the dugout. Surprisingly, Le Bris only started his senior managerial career two years ago when he was named as successor to former Lorient manager Christophe Pelissier after spending time coaching in Rennes academy and leading Lorient’s reserve side. In terms of success at youth level, Le Bris led Rennes to a National League title and the Coupe Gambardella, which is a competition similar to the FA Youth Cup. During his time with Lorient’s reserve side, Le Bris worked with former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi and current Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

It is believed Sunderland were alerted to Le Bris when he led Lorient to a tenth placed finish in French football’s top tier during the 2022/23 season and that represented their highest finish in almost a decade. There were some familiar faces in his squad during the season including former Black Cats goalkeeper Vito Mannone, prolific striker Terem Moffi and highly talented midfielder Enzo Le Fee, who has been linked with several major clubs across Europe in recent seasons.

How did Le Bris and Lorient fare last season?

Not well is the brutally honest answer to that one! The sales of Moffi and Le Fee to Nice and Rennes respectively set the tone for a deeply disappointing campaign for Lorient. Le Bris brought in the likes of Marseille defender Isaak Toure and Amiens star Formose Mendy, as well as concluding what was a controversial deal for former Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy.

A promising goalless draw at reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain gave false hope as Lorient won just one of their opening eight league games and had only added one further victory during the first half of the campaign. A low point came just before Christmas when Lorient fans dumped 400kg of rotten fish outside the club’s training ground as the Lorient squad returned from a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Brest. An upturn in form consisting of four wins in five games across February and March raised hopes of an improvement but a disastrous run of seven consecutive defeats led to relegation into Ligue 2. A 5-0 hammering of bottom club Clermont offered little consolation as Lorient’s four-year stay in Ligue 1 ended. The Coupe de France also proved to be a disappointment as Le Bris’ side crashed to a 2-1 defeat in a round of 64 tie at third tier club Sochaux.

What has been said about Le Bris’ future with Lorient?

Prior to links with Sunderland, there have been some suggestions Le Bris could part company with Lorient in the aftermath of their relegation. The recent appointment of former Arsenal and France defender Laurent Koscielny into what was described as a ‘position of power’ in the French media has led to speculation the potential Black Cats manager could be relieved of his duties in the near future.

Lorient chairman Loic Fery also stopped short of confirming Le Bris would remain in charge in a recent interview, saying: "The ambition will be to keep an elite structure but there will certainly be adjustments in the club's lifestyle. The balance sheet is opening, so do not count on me to react hot on this (Le Bris’ future), we will make the decisions that seem to us to be the right ones to have the best organisation.”

What do we know of Le Bris’ approach?

According to transfermarket.co.uk, Le Bris is said to favour a 3-4-2-1 formation - although he has reverted to a 3-4-3, 5-4-1 and a more traditional 4-4-2 formation with two deep-lying midfielders and high-pressing wingers.

Although Lorient were praised for their intensity and ability to go head-to-head with Ligue 1’s biggest clubs during the most successful days of Le Bris’ reign, there was some criticism from former Marseille manager Igor Tudor after a draw between the two sides in April 2023. Speaking to Amazon Prime, he said: “Lorient did not want to play, they remained in defence to go on the counter-attack, typical of French football. I am satisfied with the intensity of the team, I’m happy with the football we showed but not with the result. Today, I like seeing the team that I like, I have nothing to blame them for.”

Le Bris offered a prickly reply, telling the same outlet: “I don’t think much of them. Each team has its story, and we managed to cause them trouble. today. It was our main challenge insofar as, in the first game, they had managed to put us in real difficulty, especially on the wings.”