Regs Le Bris felt Alan Browne’s Championship experience and nous would be crucial at Luton, hence the decision to bring the midfielder into his Sunderland side in place of Patrick Roberts last night.
And Le Bris reflected on a “good choice” after Browne added steel in midfield on a challenging night and Roberts came off the bench to help see out a crucial victory.
Roberts started the first 10 Championship games for Sunderland but dropped to the bench at Kenilworth Road, with Chris Rigg shifted forward to start on the right side of the attack.
Explaining his decision, Le Bris said: “We need to manage our team and we knew it would be this kind of atmosphere.
“Browney we thought would be good to face this kind of challenge because he did well at Preston last season. He did.
There was also post-match praise for Chris Mepham after another outstanding defensive display from the Bournemouth loanee.
Le Bris said: “Chris was ready for this kind of battle but wasn’t alone. We needed everyone.
“It’s a question of personality, aggressiveness. We were clever tactically. Both the mindset and the tactical side was good.”
