The draw extended Sunderland’s unbeaten streak to seven games. Sunderland manager Regis le Bris was disappointed with his team’s performance in the Championship’s 0-0 draw at Preston. A second consecutive goalless draw extended the visitors’ unbeaten streak to seven games, putting them two points ahead at the top of the league. However, their performance in Deepdale did not meet Le Bris’ expectations.
“We are not happy because this was not the performance that we wanted to execute today but, in the end, it is a point,” added the Sunderland coach. Patrick Roberts and Romaine Mundle were strangely left on the bench, despite both appearing in the second half, but Le Bris attributed this to keeping his alternatives fresh. “It’s a long league with many games in the week,” he informed us. “We have to manage the team and the roster, and we must give other players opportunity because we will undoubtedly need them.
“We also need to manage the others since they can grow fatigued and we need them in top shape. We know (Roberts) is a major strength that we will definitely miss, but the last 30 minutes were intended to be for him, and I believe we changed the dynamic of the game in that moment.” Sunderland’s alterations meant that attacker Wilson Isidor began in a wide position. Le Bris admits his performance may have been better, but he feels the move will help his career.
“He’s a young player and he needs the opportunity to learn,” according to Le Bris. “He can’t imagine the obstacles before playing, which is beneficial for him. “He worked for the team.” Obviously, that wasn’t his best performance, but that’s to be expected given that he needs time. Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom was disappointed with the officiating and his team’s ineptitude in front of goal. Early on, referee Lewis Smith elected to show Chris Mepham a yellow card rather than a red for a cynical tackle on Sam Greenwood on the edge of the box.
“We’ve been performing really well but things are going against us at the minute,” Heckingbottom explained. “We had three really fantastic chances in the first half that could have made the game a lot more comfortable for us, and clearly the referee’s decisions might have made it a little bit easier for us.
“While we’re not getting help from the officials, having five shocking decisions in the last eight games makes it more difficult, but we could have done enough ourselves in this game and previous games to get a lot more points.” “We have an identity and a definite style, and individuals are having to alter and be very disciplined about how we perform in order to try to get the best of us. “I take that as a compliment but what comes with that is that we’re never going to play a team who’s underprepared.”
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