Former Sunderland AFC star left blown away by Regis Le Bris | OneFootball

Martin Gray claimed he "never expected" Sunderland to have the start to the season they have, as they find themselves in the promotion race

Before a ball was kicked this season, Sunderland were given a 0.2% chance of finishing top of the Championship table this season by Opta's supercomputer.

The Black Cats have laughed in the face of that computer so far this season, spending most of the campaign top of the pile as belief grows that they can return to the Premier League for the first time since being relegated in 2016/17.

Regis Le Bris has been the mastermind behind it all, with the new Sunderland boss getting off to a dream start in the post, already endearing himself to an adoring fan base.

He didn't have the easiest start to life at the Stadium of Light as he had to cope with the loss of Jack Clarke to Ipswich in the summer - the man who for so often was Sunderland's go-to man.

But he's coped with that loss phenomenally and has now drawn praise from far and wide, including from ex-Sunderland man Martin Gray, who told The Sun that he "couldn't forsee" their change in fortunes under Le Bris.

Gray played over half a century of games for Sunderland in the late 90's, rising throught the youth ranks to complete every young boy's dream of playing first team football.

He still keeps a close eye on Sunderland to this day and spoke recently about his shock at the trajectory the club has taken.

"You look at Sunderland and wonder where all this has come from.

"I didn't know much about Regis Le Bris but I heard after pre-season some really good feedback about what he was doing.

"And what he is doing is working and they’ve got off to a start that most of us never expected.

"I’ve been to the Derby and Leeds matches recently and from where they were two or three years ago to now is something I didn’t foresee to be honest."

His sentiments will undoubtedly be echoed by a lot of Sunderland fans, few of whom knew of Le Bris' pedigree when he crossed the channel and swapped France for England.

They all know enough about him to adore him now, but he could cement legend status if he fires Sunderland back to the top-flight.

Le Bris didn't arrive at Sunderland as a decorated coach

Le Bris wasn't exactly what you'd call a household name before the summer, and indeed, his job at Sunderland so far remains his most impressive so far.

Black Cats fans must've been wondering exactly what they were letting themselves in for when they appointed a man who had just overseen Lorient's relegation from Ligue 1 in 2023/24.

It was the season prior where Le Bris truly demonstrated his coaching stripes, when he guided Lorient to a 10th place finish, which was their highest top-flight finish since 2013/14.

Relegation though isn't something that fazed Le Bris, who insisted he learned from his experiences, claiming "I know I am in a much better place to take on this challenge now than I would have been before I had had my experiences with Lorient” prior to the season.

He's certainly made the perfect start to proving that's the case this season, but with a huge chunk of the season remaining, he still has much to prove.