Speaking in his first press conference since his appointment as Head Coach, Régis Le Bris has been outlining the blueprint for how he wants his side to look ahead of an important season for the Club.
The Frenchman has been casting a watchful eye over the first-team squad this week after taking training for the first time on Monday morning.
Following the first few weeks at the Academy of Light, Le Bris will then continue to build on their preparations over the summer months with UK-based friendlies against South Shields, Gateshead, Blackpool and Bradford City.
Those games will be played either side of a pre-season trip to Spain where the Lads will take on Premier League opposition in Nottingham Forest and Spanish outfit CD Eldense.
Le Bris said: “I think if the ideas are clear and are understood by the players, they can produce many things. All the players have a style of play, so we need to adapt to be able to play to their strengths.
“This team can press high up the pitch which they did well in many games last season. It wasn’t consistent enough during the whole season. The technical level is high so we can produce fast attacks, six or seven passes to reach a goal but we can also control the game.
“It is a question of balance but if we share this intention, I think we can have a very energetic game and be an exciting team for the fans.”
Ahead of the new season, Sunderland have already added to their squad in the early stages of the transfer window with experienced goalkeeper Simon Moore joining the first-team squad in June.
The Club will continue to press ahead with their transfer priorities as the new Head Coach relayed their plans for the summer months ahead of another big Sky Bet Championship campaign. “I am comfortable with the process,” he added.
“This part of the work is really complex. The team has been young, but in the two previous seasons between the ages of 19 to 21 but they did gain some experience so that has been useful for the next season.
“We are also thinking about one or two more experienced players who know the Championship very well. Players who have high standards in their way of training, their way of playing and the ability to pilot the team during the game.
“These kinds of players could be young or old. We have all these ideas. We have a whole market which is very difficult and complicated. With the quality of the organisation, we will have a good team at the end.”