Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris signs new contract

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Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has signed a new contract at the Stadium of Light running to the summer of 2028.

Le Bris, 49, was appointed in late June of last year and guided Sunderland to promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in his first season.

Sunderland’s first top-flight season since 2016-17 begins at home to West Ham United on Saturday week.

“The connection I have with the staff, players and supporters has been natural and we shared many great moments together,” Le Bris said in a statement.

“The collective ambition is there to see and now there is a desire to become stronger. I can feel the energy and intent to push forward, and we need that in the next challenges we will face. In every part of the organisation, everyone has their own part to play, and we are all aligned.”

Le Bris had previously not worked in England but Sunderland, with the youngest squad in the Championship, won nine of their first twelve league games under the Frenchman.

That form could not continue but it showed Le Bris’ organisational impact on the team. A side that had finished 16th in 2023-24 came fourth a year later.

That led to a dramatic play-off semi-final victory over Coventry City and an even more dramatic Wembley win against Sheffield United, when Sunderland were 1-0 down at half-time and won the match in the last seconds.

Sunderland have made eight new signings over the summer and Le Bris’ contract extension, according to sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, “provides clarity going into the Premier League season”.

Speakman added: “But more importantly it recognises his contribution and continued commitment to the Club. Régis has an unrelenting desire for progression that matches our own and we look forward to continuing our partnership throughout the upcoming season, as we move forward with aligned objectives that reflect our shared ambition.”

‘Sunderland’s faith in Le Bris is clear’

Analysis by Phil Buckingham

Much has changed for Sunderland since the dramatic Championship play-off final victory over Sheffield United in May.

Key players have gone, like Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson, replaced in turn by a host of expensive new signings, most notably Granit Xhaka, in a transformative summer transfer window.

The arrival of Florent Ghisolfi, once of Nice and Roma, as director of football also underlines the flux and ambition ahead of a Premier League return but Sunderland’s faith in Regis Le Bris is clear.

The Frenchman succeeded where so many had failed when guiding Sunderland back to English football’s top division for the first time since 2016-17 and a new long-term deal, running for another three years, is reward for his ongoing influence within the club.

“An important part of the vision,” as Ghisolfi said today.

Le Bris has ultimately shown himself to be the perfect fit for Sunderland’s model, where recruitment is unashamedly focused upon development of youngsters. Le Bris excelled on that front, bringing on the likes of Bellingham, Chris Rigg and Eliezer Mayenda, and ensuring it was the Championship’s youngest squad that eventually won promotion at Wembley.

Sunderland and Le Bris face very different challenges in the next 12 months but a new contract would suggest there is an alignment that owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has struggled to find with predecessors at the Stadium of Light.

(Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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