”Something is missing” - Regis Le Bris drops Sunderland AFC claim | OneFootball

Another stalemate was played out by the Black Cats in midweek.

Regis Le Bris admitted that something is not quite right with his Sunderland side at the moment after their 1-1 draw with Bristol City.

A late goal from Patrick Roberts was what salvaged any form of points for the Black Cats on Tuesday night as they were frustrated by the Robins.

They largely controlled the game but struggled to find an opening until the left-winger popped up on the opposite side to finish at the near post from a tight angle.

It was Sunderland's sixth draw in their last eight games. The gap to the top isn't as big as it could be, but it may be increased if Sheffield United beat Millwall this evening (Wednesday, 11th December).

Regis Le Bris makes Sunderland "missing" admission

The stagnation in results is indicative of the Black Cats' performances of late, and the head coach is well aware of that. Tuesday night's result did maintain their unbeaten home record this season, but that didn't satisfy Le Bris.

"It's a positive, to keep the dynamic (home record). But we are frustrated at the end because I think we deserved to win," stated the Sunderland boss. "But from our perspective something is missing, and we can't complain.

"We can't give up. We just have to push more and believe in our quality, believe in our club, in our fans, and so on. Now it is a question of ambition."

Le Bris reflected on the game as a whole in his post-match comments, and said: "We started well and we dominated the first half with a good rhythm and tempo in the game. We had many chances to score but we didn’t.

"It is not easy to face a low block and we know we have a lot of work to do in this part of the game. We need to be more clinical, especially in these types of matches.

"If you don’t score the opponent can stay in their foundations and keep to their game plan. We have quality collectively and individually, but now we need to add five or 10 per cent more.

"The character was good because we got a late equaliser but if we want to have better ambition in the league we need to add five or 10 per cent more."

Sunderland will face a tough challenge to get out of this rut

This plateauing has been caused by some factors outside of the Black Cats' control. While they have been able to regulate their suspension issues (while not doing it very well), they have been firmly hit by injuries in recent times, losing the likes of Alan Browne and Romaine Mundle until later in the month of January.

Their woes have been made worse by Tommy Watson's new fitness scare. He was forced off after less than 25 minutes against City due to a challenge on him from Zak Vyner, when the 18-year-old winger was attempting to get a shot off.