Sunderland has appointed Regis Le Bris as their new head coach on a three-year contract. The 48-year-old Frenchman comes from Lorient, where he spent two seasons in charge. In his first season, he guided Lorient to a 10th place finish in Ligue 1, but unfortunately, they were relegated last season after finishing 17th.
Le Bris takes over from Michael Beale, who was sacked in February after less than three months in charge of Sunderland. The Black Cats finished 16th in the Championship in the 2023-24 season and had been linked with a move for Will Still, but he took over at Lens instead.
Sunderland finished sixth in their first season back in the second tier in 2022-23 under Tony Mowbray, but were unable to secure promotion after being defeated by Luton in the play-off semi-final. Mowbray was sacked last December, and Beale took over, but he was relieved of his duties after 12 matches as Sunderland fell out of contention for the top six.
Under the caretaker charge of coach Mike Dodds, Sunderland ended the season 17 points adrift of the play-off places. Le Bris will now look to rebuild the team and guide them towards a successful campaign in the upcoming season.