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“We want to reach 40 points as soon as possible”.

Sunderland are fourth in the Premier League after nine games, defying expectations this year.

Regis le Bris, however, insists that achieving 40 points and ensuring Premier League safety are still the goals rather than entertaining talk of European football.

The newly promoted side were among the favourites for relegation from the Premier League at the start of the 2025-26 campaign, with Opta’s Supercomputer tipping them to finish bottom.

The Black Cats now have 17 points, which is their best season-to-date return since Hull City, who had 20 in 2008-2009, nine games in.

Following the Black Cats’ most recent victory, a 2-1 comeback win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Le Bris commented, “The emotions in the club are excellent, it’s impressive.”

“We’ve found this togetherness not only across the squad but also across the club with the fans as well. This is what they are entitled to. You can create many advantages when the energy is high. For us the target remains the same”.

Michael Beale’s permanent replacement had been impossible to find, and the club had chosen a player who had just been relegated from Ligue 1 to Lorient.

But with the Black Cats ending an eight-year exile from the top flight by beating Coventry in the play-off final, that has turned to immense pride among the club’s support.

Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes of BBC Radio Newcastle said, “The fans love him.

He has succeeded in achieving that saying that “the results are the first things that win them over.”

” But they also see that he is a genuinely nice guy with a nice demeanour about him. He smiles, can crack a joke, and is very patient, and I believe people have responded to that in public and at press conferences.

Le Bris is not your typical manager, with a doctorate in biomechanics and sport physiology to his name. His popularity on Wearside meant that a trip to the seafront at Roker early on in his tenure caught him by surprise when he was mobbed by fans.

This composed and sincere person has since slipped into Newcastle to occasionally enjoy an evening out with his friends and learned his lesson.

This football student is in his element at the Academy of Light, though.

” Regis is a bit shy, but he’s very personable and he has a wry sense of humour and he’s become a bit more comfortable in his own skin, “said Barnes.

He has a lot of focus, he says. He appears to devote his entire life to the position. He jokingly refers to being at his happiest in front of his laptop, watching matches.

Le Bris started out in Ligue 1 for Rennes, but this proud son of Brittany found his true calling when he joined Wasquehal at the age of 27. He had a modest playing career.

He quickly obtained his badges and was soon returning to his old club to take on a youth coaching role.

Before taking a similar job at Lorient, he had success there, winning the French equivalent of the Youth Cup and the U18 Championship.

He once again played a significant role in the youth program, winning the under-17s and then leading the reserve team.

But behind his involvement in youth football was a burning desire to improve himself and take on a top job.

Regis has always had ambitious goals, according to Mathieu Pelicart, regional newspaper Le Telegramme’s correspondent.

He had already made a few trips abroad to clubs in Germany and Spain and had never denied his desire to learn more about other leagues as he prepared to become the number one.

His wish was granted as he took over Lorient in 2022, and after eight wins in his first 10 games the club reached second in the table.

They eventually finished 10th, but they still won at Paris St.Germain, where Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe were both a part, and still did well there.

Owner of the French team, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, was one of the men who had been monitoring Lorient’s events.

Sunderland had put together a talented but youthful squad and they needed a guiding hand.

Le Bris was almost the ideal candidate for this project, despite having only two years of English football experience and no previous success.

French football expert Julien Laurens called Regis Le Bris a “pure coach.”

“All he cares about is the training pitch, doing his sessions, transmitting his ideas across and the game itself. What surrounds him in a way that isn’t really his thing.

Le Bris was once one of France’s top youth-level coaches and academy directors. What he loves the most is coaching young players. He excels at guiding them in how to improve.

Le Bris was proud of his ancestry and the strong Breton cultural identity of the area when he was a child.

Moving to the north-east of England may seem miles away when the 49-year-old has decided to leave, but Wearside has a strong attachment to her.

“He used to be in a club in Lorient that had so much identity”, said Laurens.

“Sunderland was perfect for him,” he said. Because of his previous experiences, he could only have attended a club like Sunderland, which he now associates with.

” He’s a very proud Breton and he knows how much this means to people in Sunderland and in the region overall. “

Le Bris is the first French manager to leave Crystal Palace in March 2023.

Only four newly promoted Premier League managers, Kenny Dalglish, Bryan Robson, Phil Brown, and Frank Clark, have collected more points than Le Bris after nine games.

” I’m hugely impressed, “Michael Carrick said of the Frenchman on Match of the Day.

Given the number of new players Sunderland have signed, their start this season is all the more impressive.

Nine of their starting XI against Chelsea were summer signings, and they spent £161 million on 15 new players, which is a record high for a promoted side.

” We have bought quality signings that have fitted in really quickly and that is down to Le Bris, “former England captain and Black Cats fan Steph Houghton told BBC Radio 5 Live.

A big thank you to the manager for making it so difficult for the players to defeat, and to the players for believing in themselves and living out their Premier League dreams.

You’re in dreamworld right now, Sunderland fans, and we’re hoping to keep going.

Sunderland’s 17 points equals their best start in the Premier League, matching their tally from the 1999-00 season, and former defender Nedum Onuoha has backed the club to stay in the top flight – as they did 25 years ago.

Onuoha told 5 Live, “Many people were saying they were one of the favorites for relegation at the start of the season, and who knows, that might still happen.”

In a friendly international match on Tuesday, England takes on Australia. The two have met for the first time since their 2023 World Cup semifinal match.

The Lionesses won the World Cup final with a 3-1 victory in Sydney that day.

New research claims that the likelihood of runners breaking marathon records is decreasing due to climate change.

According to a study from Climate Central, a non-profit organization based in the US, record-breaking runs in some races are nearly impossible due to rising temperatures.

Additionally, it predicted that 86% of the 221 global marathons, which it defines as 4C for men and 10C for women, will be less likely to take place in optimal running conditions by 2045.

The fastest British woman finisher at the 2024 London Marathon, Mhairi Maclennan, said: “At the elite level, conditions can make or break a performance.

We practice our best every day and manage every aspect of our lives until the ideal temperature drops below zero.

Knowing that record-breaking performances could soon be out of reach if the weather keeps getting hotter is not just about making races harder, it’s about knowing that climate change is about more than just making races harder.

According to the study, Tokyo is projected to experience the steepest decline by 2045, but it also has the highest chance of achieving ideal temperatures for elite male runners (69%).

The late Kelvin Kiptum set the men’s marathon world record for two hours, 35 seconds in Chicago in 2023.

Ruth Chepngetich broke the women’s world record for 2024 in Chicago, but she was banned from doing so for three years after admitting to breaking the anti-doping laws.

Over the past seven years, the men’s record has decreased by two minutes 22 seconds, with improvements largely attributable to improved shoe technology.

Catherine Ndereba, a former world record-holder for women, said: “The marathon has changed due to climate change.”

A race can be ended before it even begins with simple errors, and dehydration is a real risk. Every step now conveys the message that even the most noble efforts will fail if we neglect our planet.

The weather is currently on its way, according to Ibrahim Hussein, who has won the New York and Boston Marathons.

Jake Wightman, a silver medalist at the world 1500m, thinks the “stars are aligning” just in time for his one final Scottish Olympic gold attempt in Glasgow the following year.

The 31-year-old, who won world silver in Tokyo in September after a few injuries in the wake of his 2022 world victory, is one of the first three athletes to be chosen for Team Scotland for the reimagined event.

Wightman and Neil Gourley have been chosen as pre-selected for the Scotstoun Stadium’s resurrected mile race, while Megan Keith has been chosen for the 10, 000-meter race, all three of whom finished in the top 12 of their world championship events.

Wightman is determined to “upgrade” those medals in what will most likely be his final race in a Scotland vest after leaving the 2018 Games in Gold Coast and the Birmingham edition in 2022 with bronze.

He told BBC Sport Scotland, “I will unwaveringly try to win it.” If I can win a gold medal at this Commonwealth Games, which I’m fairly certain will be my last, would be nice, and doing it in front of a home crowd would make it even nicer.

Wightman’s Commonwealth journey will be capped by the Glasgow event, since his first Games took place in the city in 2014.

He was still a student at the time, and his injury hampered his chances of winning the heats. His ambitions are likely to be most threatened by a few of his childhood pals this time, along with others.

Josh Kerr, a two-time Olympic medalist, will join Gourley in the Scotstoun start line for the final on August 1st, though his selection won’t be until after a knee injury has left him outside the top 10 in Tokyo.

It could be one of the championships’ events because the three of us won the world championships, Australia always has good runners in the mile, and there will be a great Kenyan team, according to Wright, referring to an event that hasn’t been staged since 1966.

However, it’s possible for me, Neil, and Josh to appear on a podium, which would be pretty special.

Because we’ve raced in Scotstoun since we were kids, I believe there will be a home advantage for us. And it will be a special occasion, one that hopefully will enable us to perform above what we even anticipate, thanks to a home crowd.

And if Wightman completes the 1609m first, will he make another celebration from Gold Coast, where he wore a “See You, Jimmy” bunnet?

He said, “It’s funny because that’s the picture on my phone right now,” he said. When you have a Saltire around you, I would do it again because it fits.