Sunderland admin posts funny social media response to fan after Régis Le Bris appointment

Sunderland’s official social media accounts were a hive of activity on Saturday evening after it was announced that Régis Le Bris was the club’s new head coach.

Régis Le Bris' said he was “honoured” to be joining Sunderland after the 48-year-old former FC Lorient man was appointed as the Black Cats new boss on after signing a three-year deal at the Academy of Light.

The move brought to an end Sunderland’s protracted search for a new head coach after the sacking of Michael Beale last Faburay, meaning that there were well over 120 days in between the two events after Mike Dodds’ interim stint last season.

The long wait for Sunderland to appoint a new permanent head coach prompted criticism from fans during the early summer months. The club, however, eventually announced the appointment of Le Bris on Saturday night, with one fan commenting: “7:28pm is a very strange time to announce this.”

In response, Sunderland’s official X account posted a good-humoured and tongue-in-cheek response with the club’s admin responding with this in reference to the long time between Beale’s sacking and Le Bris’ appointment: “Please tell us you aren’t suggesting we delayed the announcement.”

The Black Cats sacked previous boss Beale last February after just 12 games in charge, following back-to-back Championship defeats. Dodds then took interim charge of the first team until the end of the 2023-24 campaign as the Wearsiders finished 16th.

After a long summer search, Sunderland eventually landed on Le Bris after advanced talks with Will Still, who eventually picked Rens. Talk of Liam Rosenior and Pascal Jansen amongst others circled before Le Bris emerged as the club’s leading candidate having been on the radar of decision-makers for some time.

Having finally overcome the hurdle of securing a work permit for Le Bris, a significantly bigger hurdle post-Brexit than in previous years, the final step was to finalise a fee and a compensation agreement with Lorient.

The French club confirmed on Saturday evening that Le Bris had departed the Ligue 1 outfit, clearing the way for his move to Wearside with the 48-year-old announced as Sunderland’s new head coach hours later. Le Bris has signed a three-year deal at the Academy of Light.