While most managers and players are complaining about packed schedules, Regis Le Bris says he has no issue with the fixture pile-up because he enjoys matchdays. He also spoke highly of Sunderland's young squad, singling out Chris Rigg, and discussed the enjoyment he is finding by learning along with the players.
FIXTURE CONGESTION
“For me it is not a problem. I like playing games really. We spoke with the staff this morning, it is like the conference league where you play one game, then a game on the Wednesday, then you play again at the weekend. It is a good rhythm for the team. We are still playing in the Championship so that rhythm is just common if we want to play at the highest level. We like to play many games and have the chance to enjoy the games, and to win as well. When we lose, we have another chance just three days later to win again.”
TOP TEAMS BECOMING CLEAR
“I think we can find the dynamic of the best teams now. It is clear that Burnley is high, Sheffield United is near the top of the table, Leeds as well. These teams are now at the top half of the table. For the rest, I don’t know because everything is still possible really.”
CHRIS RIGG
“He has shown many things, for such a young player. The first one is he is able to assume his responsibility whatever the circumstances. It is really a good point for a young player. Sometimes you can be uncomfortable to play with 40,000 people in the stands but for him it is not a problem. His intensity is still high, he wants the ball, he defends with the team, and game after game he learns very quickly from good and bad experiences. His ability to take this responsibility on the pitch and learning from experiences, I think is very interesting.”
WORKING WITH THIS SQUAD
“I am enjoying the connection because as a coach you have a style of working, a style of playing, and you enjoy some elements of the game from a game model perspective and you enjoy the relationships. For me, it is a learning environment. So, I don’t know everything and the players don’t know everything, but we can share and learn together. It is the same idea with the staff. Here, that is really the case. When I come here early in the morning and I leave later in the evening, I enjoy the environment and the link with the people here. We want to learn together and if we do it for a long period of time, we will improve for sure. Because we have talented players, talented coaches, all of these elements together with strong organisation around, at the end we could expect many good things. But we don’t know because we still have an opposition, so we will see.”
