Even the most dedicated follower will find that hard to swallow after four straight defeats, the latest an awful performance in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Oxford, where Le Bris’ men failed to get a shot on target.
Some travelling supporters berated the team after the final whistle – although many stayed to applaud their players – and criticism was merciless on social media.
Le Bris said: “I respect their opinion for sure – I can’t say anything else after our run of results. But at the same time I repeat that the team has shown us so much good football this season. I trust the players, the staff and the club to be ready for the play-offs.
“If the opponents in the play-offs are stronger than us, we’ll accept the outcome but we’ll be at our best.”
It would have to be stratospherically better than the performance at the Kassam Stadium. Le Bris admitted: “It was clear that we did not match the energy of our opponents.
“They were fighting for their lives – that wasn’t the case for us. In duels, in direct play, in set-pieces, we were not at their level and it was difficult to manage situations.
“The game shifted away from us at the start, and high up the pitch we were not efficient enough to create chances. I think we created only one chance – not enough to win the game – and the opponent deserved the win.
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“Our training week had been okay, I didn’t feel complacency, but on the day of competition, you have to be ready and we were not ready.”
Le Bris refuses to be worried by the loss of momentum as Sunderland, who are guaranteed fourth place, head for the promotion deciders.
He said: “For me, it is a strong reminder rather than a big worry. Competition is violent, and if you don’t match the energy of your opponent, you can’t play. That was the case against Oxford.”
Sunderland have one game of the regular season left to cheer up fans at the Stadium of Light, when QPR visit next Saturday.
Le Bris said: “I’m not sure they’re really connected but at the same time, if we lift our level, we have a better chance of winning on Saturday.
“If it helps to win the play-offs, that’s okay for me. But if we lose the next game and win the play-offs, that’s okay for me as well.
“This league is really impressive – 46 games over a season, so we can’t expect this group, who were 16th last season and are the youngest in the league, to be always stable.
“That’s impossible. So we are in this period, which is disappointing – we don’t like the feeling of defeat – that’s really clear.”
