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Head coach Regis Le Bris will continue to “ride the wave” after Sunderland’s impressive season following promotion to the Premier League, which continued with a goalless draw. brighton,
The high-flying Black Cats ignored the loss of several regular first-team players at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to follow up their Wear-Tyne derby victory over Newcastle last weekend.
There was a largely uneventful standoff in Amex Stadium Have been taken Sunderland Scored 27 points in 17 games before a memorable 2025 finish on home soil leeds Next weekend.
Asked about the club’s progress, Frenchman Le Bris, who masterminded promotion via the Championship play-offs last term, said: “It’s hard and it’s always step by step.
“We’ve got on well with Sunderland, with the club, with the project, and so far it’s been really positive, so just ride the wave.”
Le Bris was forced to make four changes following Newcastle’s win, as Noah Sadiq, Chemsedne Talbi, Renildo Mandava and Bertrand Traoré joined AFCON preparations with their respective countries.
Midfielder Habib Diarra, who returned from injury as a second-half substitute on the south coast, is set to link up with the Senegalese to take his total to five.
“We won 26 points before the AFCON, which is important and a big achievement, and now it is really clear that we will be a little less calm because we have less players,” Le Bris said.
“And the players who haven’t played yet will need time to progress.
“We are confident in their quality, their mentality but you can’t switch on and come up to the level (straight away), so they will need time.
“But today they showed they are consistent and ready to go.”
Sunderland defender Omar Alderete came closest to a winner at Sussex when his 46th-minute header was pushed onto the crossbar by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
“We had two halves in this game where we dominated for probably 65, 75 minutes,” Le Bris said.
“During this period we had opportunities to score and when you have those opportunities you don’t score goals then you can expect the opponent to press till the end.
“We remained consistent and kept this clean sheet.”
brighton boss Fabian Herzeler He insisted that he was not worried about his team’s form after not winning the fourth game.
Midfielder Yassin Ayari wasted Albion’s best chance, with a few boos to greet the full-time whistle.
Herzeler, who was without first-team regulars Lewis Dunk, Jan Paul van Hecke, Diego Gomez, Carlos Baleba and Danny Welbeck, said: “Why should I be worried because the table is so close?
“Sunderland are fifth now (before the Premier League evening kick-off) and they are three points ahead of us. It’s very close.
“We are in a phase where we are not able to score, where we are not able to create consistency, but we are not the only ones in the league doing that.
“We have to get back to the winning streak, that’s for sure, but we are never worried.
“We are not happy that we missed so many chances but we have to keep trying.”