But while the gap between the Black Cats and the automatic-promotion positions remains at a relatively-daunting eight points, the head coach also insists he has not given up hope of finishing in the top two.
Sunderland host Cardiff City this afternoon looking to build on last Friday’s win at Sheffield Wednesday and draw a line under their previous home outing, which saw Hull City become the first visiting side to win at the Stadium of Light in the Championship this season.
Le Bris’ side head into today’s game with a 13-point cushion to seventh-placed Bristol City, and the Frenchman feels his side need another three or four wins to guarantee themselves at least a top-six finish.
“It is not finished for the play-offs because we need points,” he said. “We probably need another ten or 12 points to be in the play-offs, and I think it’s really important to maintain our level and gain momentum at the end of the season.
“It is important to refresh the team and use every player available, to help the team and keep the same consistency about the learning process and the way we want to improve our game model. There are details we want to improve, and if we keep these ideas, I think we can build a strong momentum until the end of the season.”
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The three sides currently above Sunderland in the table show no signs of slowing, with leaders Leeds United unbeaten in the league since November, second-placed Sheffield United having won five of their last six games and third-placed Burnley also not having suffered a league defeat in the last five months.
Nevertheless, Le Bris maintains that automatic promotion remains possible, provided his players do not take their eye off the ball in the next two months.
“We are still very positive,” he said. “Many things can still happen. We have 11 games left to play, with 33 points still available. That is a massive amount and we do not know what will happen.
“Obviously, when you are chasing the second place, you can have an extra motivation, but I don’t think that is the main motivation. The main motivation is just to play and win, and then after that while there are some elements we can control, others are out of our control.
“If Leeds, Sheffield (United) and Burnley are doing very well until the end of the season and we finish in fourth with a great amount of points, then that is still good for us. But if the opponents are better than us, we have to accept that.”
And with that in mind, while Le Bris will continue to rotate in order to give some his players a rest, he insists this is not the time to be trying anything too radical.
“This is not a time for experimenting,” he said. “It is still very important to maintain our consistency. At the minute, we don’t have the opportunity to waste time. It is impossible. Consistency is key. We did well so far, so it is just a question now and looking for improvements and trying to stay consistent.”
Sunderland (probable, 4-3-3): Patterson; Hume, Mepham, O’Nien, Cirkin; Rigg, Neil, Bellingham; Roberts, Isidor, Mundle.