Sunderland will be looking to continue their recent purple patch of form when they come up against Norwich City in the Championship on Tuesday evening.
The Black Cats have recorded back-to-back 1-0 victories since returning from last month’s international break, with Trai Hume having netted winning goals against Millwall and West Brom in consecutive weeks.
Reflecting on his side’s display against the Baggies on Saturday afternoon, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris said: “It was an important win away. The first half was okay in possession, we had some good spells but when we scored the opponent had to push and take risks. In that situation our zonal defence, midblock and low block were really important. We did really well from a tactical point of view but I want to reinforce the idea that the mindset of the team was key. They were really well connected, won many duels and the team spirit was impressive.
“It’s the normal evolution of the game, because they used many bodies in the box and tried to play crosses, to use different options to create some chaotic situations in the box. We defended this very well and protected Anthony [Patterson]. The game became a little bit crazy because when we recovered the ball the chances were there to counter. So until the end it was on the end but I think you can feel now that the maturity of the team is getting better. I think probably three or four months we lost these games, we lost many points from these circumstances so this is a big positive.”
