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Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee has admitted that Sunderland have not met their standards over recent weeks ahead of the Championship play-offs.
Sunderland face Queens Park Rangers on the 2024/25 Championship’s final day having already booked their semi-final spot in the second tier play-offs.
Since Regis Le Bris’ side secured fourth place with games to spare, the Black Cats have endured a worrying run of form, seeing the Wearsiders lose their last four on the spin ahead of the final day visit of QPR.
Marti Cifuentes will not be in Le Bris’ opposite dugout amid his gardening leave chaos, and with the Hoops safe from the drop in 15th, the final day clash offers Sunderland an opportunity to regain some much-needed form before the play-offs campaign begins.
In the wake of their 2-0 defeat at Oxford United, Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee has made a damning admission over the Black Cats’ form, one he and his team intend to put right.
Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee admits Sunderland ‘haven’t been good enough’
Since their play-offs place was booked, the Black Cats have lost four on the spin, with a worrying goals scored to conceded ratio of one to six suffered across those four fixtures.
Sunderland have looked “really poor” in attack of late, with no dynamism or creative spark helping to reinject some life into their performances.
One squad member who must now take up that burden for the play-offs is Roma loanee Le Fee, who has recently returned from the Sunderland sidelines, and is now fully-fit to feature in the season-defining campaign.
Injury setbacks have limited Le Fee’s stint to just ten starts since his January arrival, and given their toothless displays of late, some Sunderland fans believe Le Fee is their “only hope” for play-offs glory.
Sunderland flew to Portugal this week for warm weather training, during which the Frenchman made a damning admission over their losing run, ahead of Saturday’s QPR clash.
Le Fee told SAFC.com: “Our trip to Portugal was important for us, it gave us time to reflect, reset, and learn.”
“Recent results haven’t been good enough, and we know that.
“Every player knows their responsibility, but now is the time for us to stand together, players, staff, supporters, everyone.
“We can’t lose sight of the opportunity still in front of us. Massive games are coming quickly, and momentum can shift fast, we have to be ready when it does.
“Our standards are extremely high, and over the past few weeks, we haven’t quite hit those levels, either individually or as a team. But with some huge games just ahead, we’ve got a real chance to put things right.”
Le Fee is adamant that Sunderland are intent on putting “things right” against QPR, and will need to rejuvenate some confidence from the Stadium of Light stands, as he issued a rallying cry for support.
Enzo Le Fee issues rallying cry ahead of Sunderland vs Queens Park Rangers
Fractures have cracked amongst the Sunderland fanbase amid their downturn in form, with one Sunderland journalist firing back at some fans for showing their discontent at their four-game losing run.
Sunderland’s winless run, combined with the club’s worrying historical play-offs record, has sections of supporters justifiably concerned with the play-offs campaign only days away.
Le Fee concluded: “On Saturday against QPR, we want to show a performance that properly reflects who we are,
“We know we’ve fallen short recently, but we’ll fight for every ball, we’ll battle, and we’ll be fully prepared for the two huge play-off games that lie ahead.”
With their play-off semi-final opponents yet to be determined before final day, the Black Cats will be keeping a keen eye on Coventry City vs Middlesbrough in particular this weekend.