Fringe Sunderland players 'hugely important' to strong campaign, says Regis Le Bris

Regis Le Bris will task Sunderland's second string with EFL Cup progression, and he says he has confidence in every one of them.

Leo Hjelde, Sunderland /

Regis Le Bris has confirmed that he will make wholesale changes to the Sunderland team for the trip to Preston this week, but he still expects a strong showing.

Sunderland head to Deepdale in the first round of the Carabao Cup just a day after Preston made boss Ryan Lowe the first managerial casualty of the season.

It will be a very different Sunderland side to the one that beat Cardiff on the opening day of the campaign, though. In fact, there is every chance it will be a completely different XI with Le Bris turning to the second string he used in preseason games against Eldense and Bradford.

That will mean chances for the likes of Pierre Ekwah, the fit-again Leo Hjelde, Chris Rigg, Adil Aouchiche, Nazariy Rusyn, and Romaine Mundle.  

And, while they are starting the season out of the first choice XI, Le Bris is still expecting a big contribution from many of them over the course of the campaign.

"There was a difference between the first and second game they played together, from Eldense to Bradford,” Le Bris said about his fringe players.

“I hope the third one will be better because they need time to build the references to play together and, later in the season, they can take another step.

“The fact that it is a competitive game will be helpful for the players, I think. With a season of 46 games, many of these players are going to be involved. There are five, six, seven players in the team who are going to have a huge importance to the squad. So it's an important game for us, for them, the club.”

Some supporters have called the strength in depth of the Sunderland squad into question, but Le Bris believes he has plenty of quality in reserve. A number of players are expected to leave on loan before the close of the transfer window, including Luis Hemir, Jewison Bennette, and Joe Anderson, but Le Bris says he has faith in his whole squad.

“I am confident with all of them,” he said. “If they have a good mindset, they are talented with different kind of profiles.

“If they want to improve, they are involved in the squad project, many things could happen really. In my career I've observed many evolutions that are incredible. I believe in development and improvement and sometimes it's crazy what they can become.”