Le Bris was criticised when Sunderland’s form tailed off dramatically in the final weeks of the campaign, with his side failing to win any of their final six matches as they treaded water ahead of the play-offs.
However, the Black Cats boss always insisted he was more than happy to prioritise fitness over his form, and his move was justified as his players ran themselves into the ground to secure a first-leg lead at the CBS Arena.
Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda scored to secure a 2-1 success, but it was the quality of Sunderland’s collective defensive work that repeatedly shone through.
“We did really well this season and of course, the last period was a little bit different, but it was our plan to refresh our squad to create the condition to have the full squad available,” said Le Bris, whose side will play the decisive second leg at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.
“You saw how important it was today, the energy and the commitment were there. You need this in play-off football.”
Coventry boasted more than 74 per cent of possession in this evening’s game, but only mustered three attempts on target.
READ MORE:
Time and time again, Sunderland’s players shut down Coventry attacks and successfully dealt with crosses into the box, with their willingness to throw themselves in front of shots and passes delighting their boss.
“It’s tough to create this mindset to be fair, but it’s a really strong quality of this team,” said Le Bris. “I was surprised early in the season to see this behaviour because they want to defend their box, their goalkeeper and their goal.
“They stick together all the time. Even when it’s tough you can feel this energy. In this period, it’s more about mindset than tactics and technical qualities. For sure, it helps. The mindset is so important.”
In the first half, Le Bris was concerned at the amount of openings Coventry were threatening to create from their right-hand side, but a tactical tweak at the break helped his side secure more control of the game.
“I was not really comfortable in the first half,” he said. “They overloaded their right side and we were outnumbered. I think it was a little bit tough for us.
“We fixed the problem during the half-time tweak so even if we conceded crosses and throw-ins in the second half, the balls we were recovering were different. They were better for us, and we felt it was possible to create the link to counter-attack.
“This was our game-plan because we knew have those threats with our forwards. They can manage big spaces – and they showed that it was possible.”
