Sunderland: Régis Le Bris makes automatic promotion prediction ahead of Oxford United clash | OneFootball

Sunderland will go into this weekend's round of fixtures top of the Championship table

Régis Le Bris has predicted that 90 points will be needed for automatic promotion to the Premier League this year as Sunderland eye a top two finish.

The Black Cats have enjoyed a positive start to the campaign, and have come into this weekend’s action top of the table after 11 games.

The Frenchman was appointed as head coach in the summer after a tumultuous season in which the team came 16th in the standings.

But the Wearside outfit have bounced back with a strong start under the 48-year-old.

However, Sunderland face stiff competition in the battle for an automatic promotion place, with the likes of Burnley, Leeds United, West Brom and Sheffield United not far behind.

Régis Le Bris makes promotion prediction

Le Bris has predicted that 90 points will be needed to gain promotion to the Premier League this season.

He has warned his side that there is still a long way to go to get to that mark, with the team on 25 from their opening 11 fixtures.

“We have shown that we are linked, that we want to win together,” said Le Bris, via The Northern Echo.

“It's a good experience but it's only 11 games and there are still 35 to come.

“Promotion is, I think, around 90 points, maybe a little more or less.

“We have 25. So, you can assess the gap - it is huge.”

Régis Le Bris issues complacency warning

Le Bris also warned that complacency must be avoided if they are to earn a top two finish this year.

He admitted that the defeat to Plymouth in September was the result of complacency, but is optimistic their form in the opening 11 games is a sign of their strong consistency.

“We spoke a lot about complacency after we won the first four games in a row,” he added.

“Then we lost at Plymouth and complacency was the right word.

“It was very subtle, it was not massive, just in some of the choices we made.

“We dominated the first half at Plymouth but after the first goal we didn't try to score again, it was complacent but tactically.

“It was not young players being selfish or a conscious decision, it was just subtle.

“The debrief after that game was very interesting.

“We are in a learning environment and this was a bad experience we can learn from.

“We will see whether we have learned because the reality is on the pitch.

“We have shown consistency this season because we can't win eight from 11 without this.

“Can we keep it going for a long time? That is what we will see.”

Sunderland’s promotion chances

Sunderland are in the mix for a top two finish at the moment, but it is still so early in the campaign that there are no guarantees they’ll be there by May.

It’s been a massively encouraging start for Le Bris, especially given there was some uncertainty over whether he was the right appointment in the summer given he’d just overseen Lorient’s relegation from Ligue 1.

But defeats like the one to Plymouth last month have to be avoided if they’re going to push for a top two finish, as dropping points from winnable positions will be punished by rivals over the course of a campaign.