Le Bris made a surprise switch in the middle of the pitch at the weekend, with Jobe Bellingham starting the game against Rangers as the No.6 and Dan Neil playing in a more advanced role.
Sunderland’s head coach also brought Eliezer Mayenda back into the starting line-up in place of Wilson Isidor.
Who starts up-front against Coventry in Friday’s play-off semi-final first leg is unclear, with Le Bris having stressed in recent weeks that there isn’t a striker pecking order and he instead assesses which of his two frontmen is best suited for each particular game.
And he was adamant that his curveball midfield tweak and striker selection at the weekend wasn’t intended to keep opposing managers in the play-offs guessing.
Instead, he says, he wants to ensure his players are prepared for different eventualities in the play-offs.
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“We don’t know what will happen in these two games so it was really important to manage different options, to spend time with other players around you,” he said.
“If we have to make a decision early or later in a game and you don’t have these experiences from previous games, it’s a problem. So even if it’s not the best option normally for the team, it is useful to have these experiences and these options.
“This is what this period has been for, it’s disappointing because we lost but we learned a lot about our squad. We’ll be stronger at the end.”
Le Bris was delighted to get Dan Ballard back on the pitch on Saturday, with the centre-half introduced from the bench for the final half an hour. Dennis Cirkin also got his first full 90 minutes under his belt since mid-March.
Le Bris said: “Dan Ballard was a big positive for us, Dennis played a full game.
“Some of the players were not at their best but they are good players, they have shown this so many times. It’s just a question of reaction and we know they have this in their profile.”
