REGIS LE BRIS feels Patrick Roberts has become a better player because of his difficult experiences last season.
Roberts’ form dipped dramatically last term, with the Sunderland midfielder admitting he failed to hit his usual standards for lengthy spells as the team’s overall performance level fell off cliff under Michael Beale and Mike Dodds.
The winger failed to score a single Championship goal in the whole of last season, and his future was being questioned when Le Bris was appointed as Sunderland’s new boss earlier this summer.
The French head coach offered everyone a clean slate at the start of his reign, and has clearly been impressed with Roberts given that he has named him in every one of his Championship starting line-ups so far this season.
Le Bris regards the 27-year-old as a hugely-important part of his plans, and while he was not involved with his management last season, he senses that Roberts has benefited from having to overcome adversity.
“I really like Patrick,” said the Sunderland boss, whose side return to action next Sunday when they travel to Hull City. “He’s an experienced player and he is very fit.
“I think that last season was not so good for him, but he learned. He’s 27, so you can learn from all your experiences.
“At the moment, he is very good for the team because he has learned from all of these previous experiences and his quality as a winger is very interesting.”
Roberts has developed a strong relationship with first-choice right-back, Trai Hume, with the pair’s link-up down the right-hand side having become a key part of Sunderland’s tactical set-up.
With Chris Rigg tending to play on the right of the Black Cats’ midfield three, Le Bris can call upon a strong unit in both attack and defence. The head coach likes to split his team into a series of separate units, with Roberts a key part of his plans for the right.
“That triangle on the right side has been very interesting because they are very linked, very clever,” he said. “They can combine and can create many things for us, in and out of possession. It’s a good experience for the triangle on the other side. I’m very happy with Patrick.”
