‘Where we want to be’: Le Bris stays positive as faltering Sunderland face Coventry reunion

European football has stretched resources but manager insists busy schedule is a chance to write a new chapter Twenty seconds of stoppage time remained when Enzo Le Fée picked up the ball and kissed it before taking a corner. As intended, the Frenchman’s perfect, right-footed delivery dropped into the corridor of uncertainty that leaves goalkeepers torn between leaving their line or standing firm. It also dipped at the right moment for Dan Ballard to power a header in off the crossbar.

Extra time in the 2025 Championship playoff semi-final second leg was almost over and Sunderland had secured a 1-1 draw that consigned Coventry to a 3-2 aggregate defeat. As an outpouring of the loudest, most raucous emotion imaginable left the Stadium of Light feeling as if it was literally shaking, Régis Le Bris momentarily looked bewildered. By the time joyous comprehension began spreading across the Sunderland manager’s face,