Black Cats out to complete season's purpose
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris says the team are determined to complete the "purpose" they set out last summer and win promotion.They face Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday (15:01 BST) with Premier League football the prize for the winners.Le Bris arrived at the Stadium of Light last June to take over a team who had finished 16th the previous stadium, but one which set a lofty goal."We are exactly where we wanted to be at the start of the season," he said. "When we first met with the players, I asked them 'what is the purpose of the season?' They told me they wanted to get promoted. Here we are and we have this opportunity."
Few had Sunderland down as one of the teams likely to mount a promotion challenge, but they have not been lower than fourth all season.And Le Bris said that watching some of their matches from last season showed that, with a bit of tinkering, the raw materials of success were in place."For me it was not a surprise but for a team that finished 16th, maybe the step could have been a bit high," he said."When I analysed different games, it was really obvious that this team was able to play really good football but had a lack of consistency."For me, it was possible to improve the consistency through the methodology, through the work we can have during the season."The weakness was identified and then it was a question of work and different improvements during the season."Of Sunderland's starting XI in the two legs of their play-off semi-final success over Coventry City, Luke O'Nien was the only player aged over 30 and Patrick Roberts the only other past 25.So with such a big occasion in prospect at Wembley, there could be nerves in their young team.But Le Bris does not expect them to be overawed with the Premier League in touching distance. "It's not always a question of age, it's a question of connection with the path," he said. "You can be 17 and you can be ready for this fixture. Or you can be 30, and probably have problems managing your emotions. "The players seem mature for this event."
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