Regis Le Bris admits where Sunderland ‘struggled’ during 1-0 Swansea loss, he must fix it for play-offs

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Sunderland were beaten 1-0 at home on Saturday as head coach Regis Le Bris admitted where his side went wrong with the Championship play-offs looming.

Sunderland lost 1-0 at home to Swansea City on Saturday afternoon with the Stadium of Light supporter base bearing witness to a lacklustre display.

Regis Le Bris’ side confirmed their place in the Championship play-offs earlier this week following their 0-0 draw against Norwich, with the Black Cats destined to finish in fourth.

Sunderland’s confirmed play-off place, combined with their little remaining hope of an automatic promotion place spawned a dire performance against the Swans, in which Le Bris’ team managed only three shots on target.

Following the surprise loss to Alan Sheehan’s side, Cats boss Le Bris admitted where it worryingly went wrong for his Sunderland side with their play-off campaign looming.

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Regis Le Bris admits where it went wrong for Sunderland vs Swansea

Swansea centre-back Ben Cabango scored the sole goal of the afternoon just shy of the hour mark after turning in a set-piece past Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.

Cabango’s strike marked the first goal Le Bris’ side have conceded since their 3-0 hammering at Coventry, but it was their absence of attacking flair that the head coach was most concerned with during the Swansea defeat.

Le Bris told SAFC.com: “It’s a disappointing result. We had a lot of possession, but it was difficult to create chances – they were well-organised and stuck to their style.

“They played with an aggressive shape. It wasn’t about keeping the ball – we did that – but we struggled to break them down and create real openings.

“Yes, we’re disappointed, but we’ve given players opportunities, and we’ll continue to do that to keep things fresh. That’s the dynamic we want to build.”

Sunderland’s lack of creativity was the driving factor behind their dire display and is an area Le Bris must solve ahead of the Championship play-offs.

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Regis Le Bris must solve Sunderland’s goalscoring issue before play-offs

Within their last five outings, Sunderland have netted only twice but conceded five times in the process, with three of those coming against Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues.

Le Bris has been suffering a catch-22 situation on Wearside, with the risk of starting key stars to build momentum being weighed up against their injury risk at such a pivotal time in their campaign.

Jobe Bellingham’s impressive form this season has seen the Sunderland star tracked by Borussia Dortmund and his absence in midfield was sorely felt on Saturday afternoon.

Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee was introduced on the hour-mark against Swansea – with Le Bris carefully managing his return to action – and was the only creative spark Sunderland had to offer.

First-choice striker Wilson Isidor’s display against Swansea saw Sunderland fans bemoan his ‘woeful’ showing, after he was caught offside four times during the opening 45′.

Selection, injury concerns and lack of goalscoring threat are imperative issues for Le Bris to solve with the play-off campaign looming.

The Frenchman’s side are currently the second tier’s joint-fifth top scorers. However, if they continue in this downward turn of form, his Black Cats are at risk of going into the season-defining period toothless.