Regis Le Bris pinpoints exact reason for Sunderland's success | OneFootball

Regis Le Bris has highlighted Sunderland's tactical maturity as a reason to why they've made a flying start to the campaign

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has heaped praise on his side's "tactical maturity" amid their best start to a season since 1899.

The Black Cats sit five points clear at the Championship summit as they begin to dream of a first Premier League campaign since 2016/17, although Sunderland fans will know all too well that there's still a lot of work to be done between now and May.

For the time being, things are going perfectly to plan for Le Bris, who, in his first season in the post, is looking to clear his own name after overseeing Lorient's relegation from the French top-flight last season.

He's making a solid fist of doing just that, and although he admitted his side are far from "perfect" in the wake of Saturday's 2-0 win over Oxford - their third league victory in succession - he conceded that he is happy with the direction his team is moving in.

Le Bris lauded his Sunderland side for finding consistency

If there was ever a Championship feat which perfectly highlights your consistency, then winning three games in a week is probably it - something Sunderland did last week thanks to wins over Hull, Luton and Oxford.

Sunderland were the only team to achieve that feat, and Le Bris told the Sunderland Echo that his side's adaptability has played its part in them becoming consistent.

"So far, the results have been good and the consistency is the key. It's the way we can adjust," he said.

"We have a game plan every time, and sometimes it works well. But football is unpredictable, you can have a different scenario [within the game] and you need to adjust some small details to keep the level and control the game.

"For me, from probably the last five, six, seven games, I feel that we are more agile to adjust these little details according to how the game is evolving to keep our level. This is satisfying for me.

"We are not perfect, but I liked for example when they changed their shape at half-time and we had two or three minutes to adjust our pressing. We did it. Maybe in the past when there is a change like this we can struggle for longer and you can lose your shape.

"It wasn't the case in this game, [they had] just one situation. I can feel now that we are more versatile according to how the game is going."

Sunderland's breakout stars have helped them shine

After losing Jack Clarke to Ipswich in the summer, many Sunderland fans would've worried how they were going to fare in an attacking sense.

But Romaine Mundle has stepped into his position admirably and is one of several breakout stars in the Sunderland side, with Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg also coming to the fore to become two of the first names on the teamsheet.

Le Bris seems to have found the perfect balance for the Black Cats, who have scored the most goals in the league (23) and also kept the joint-second most clean sheets in the division, so it's little surprise they're looking down on the rest.

They'll face a stern challenge in January to keep hold of their star assets, with Rigg in particular attracting a wealth of top-flight interest, with Chelsea and Manchester United among the frontrunners.

But if the Black Cats can keep up their incredible form under Le Bris, then Rigg might be a Premier League footballer for the club whom he's played for his entire youth career, so maybe he'd be wise to put off a move in case Sunderland's consistency carries through until May!