Kristjaan Speakman says sorry to Sunderland fans for poor communication and for the 2023/24 season, which he says was a failure.
The Sporting Director also spoke about what to expect from new boss Regis Le Bris, continued to talk about how poor last season was and hinted at major contractual developments in the coming days, with Chris Rigg on the verge of signing a new contract.
The club finished sixth in their first season back in the second tier for the 2022-23 campaign under Tony Mowbray, only to lose to Luton in the playoff semi-final.
In the 2023-24 season, they finished 16th in the Championship, an underwhelming campaign, sacking Mowbray back in December with Sunderland sitting 9th in the table, then his replacement, Michael Beale, had been axed after just 12 matches as they fell out of top six contention and ended the season 17 points below the playoff places with caretaker Mike Dodds put in charge for the time being.
But after 123 days of searching for a permanent appointment, they’ve appointed Frenchman Regis Le Bris, who experienced relegation with Lorient in Ligue 1 last season.
WORK STARTS NOW FOR RLB
“First of all, everyone is really excited to be back. It’s great to get the first day’s training in. The weather has not been too kind to us today but it won’t jeopardise our work. In Regis, you’re just getting a really thoughtful, diligent and detailed coach. He’s tactically really astute. Everything he’ll be doing will be geared towards developing the group, developing the team, the individual focus and ultimately winning games.”
POOR COMMS
“Acquiring a Head Coach is always a complex process, but I think it would be remiss of us not to mention that our comms wasn’t great over the summer. That wasn’t intentional, the plan was to go out early with information, that became a little bit difficult with how that process went. Even when Kyril made his statement in early June, it was several weeks later when we were able to actually conclude the deal and announce Regis as the Head Coach. So, we’ll certainly try to improve that element and we really respect the patience.”
LAST SEASON WAS A FAILURE
“Ultimately no one is happy with how certainly the second part of last season went. There’s a little dose of failure there for the staff and the players and myself. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in terms of our drive and desire to want to get better. It’s always important to be learning, we’re trying to learn and we’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and each other during that period which I hope just makes us stronger for the season coming up.”
CLUB SHOP OPENING
“First of all, the staff over at Black Cat House who are involved in the new shop, the branding, the kit, have done an incredible job and it’s great to see everyone proud about their work. When you’re discussing a new Head Coach and you’re trying to convince a Head Coach to come to the club, we know how unique Sunderland is and you’re trying to tell people how unique Sunderland is. But I think for me to be able to take Regis down, see the fans at the store and be able to walk the line – people patiently waiting, doing some autographs and chatting to some supporters. That gives him a real feeling about what the club is like and I’m sure he’ll get a greater feeling as we move into pre-season, with more fan interactions and obviously the games.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
“Certainly we want to make sure pre-season is executed really well. It’s all about having good planning, we want to be really good about the pre-season. My ultimate focus is the transfer window and making sure the squad is in the right place moving forward. We’ve already started that work with the goalkeeping changes we’ve made. It’s also about retaining talent and hopefully we’ll have some good news in the next couple of days on some of our exciting talent.”
Twitter users gave their thoughts as Kristjaan Speakman says sorry to Sunderland fans for poor communication and last season being a failure…
@FTM1042: Get recruitment right announce Riggs contract then we can all start to believe. We just want to see action and ambition and we want to see you build a team that can compete for promotion next season ❤️🤍
@RockySAFC: That’s fair enough. Knows they failed last season. Hopefully they have learned from it.
@oxo_cubed: I can’t warm to Speakman. I’m sure he’s a lovely bloke, but I still feel like he’s got too much sway and control of a club that’s too big for him. I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’ve said this for over a year. In League One he was a good inclusion, the Championship is different
@_Andyapple5_: Good stuff. Clean slate. Let’s move forward. Onwards and upwards 🙌
@DayToDayGuy: I’ll judge you on how you do this season in terms of transfers and such. I’ve heard all this talk before, actions speak louder than words.
@markbussey14: It’s all words until action happens let’s hope they really have learned from last season
@SAFCsharpy: He mentions that he and the group are always learning. Let’s hope they have learnt from last season.
@GARP1967: I don’t want to see him on the training ground. I want to see him with a proven goal scoring centre-forward, putting pen to paper in the boardroom. Then I’ll know lessons have really been learnt.
@GJohnson2022: Announce Rigg, Neil and Ballard contract extensions
@johnkaystractor: Humble KS 👏🏻 nice little update
@DanielStokell1: Wow! Actually acknowledging the poor communications, I didn’t expect this but shows that they have learnt and listened – that feel good factor is definitely back on Wearside. Retain our talent and compliment it with the correct, new additions and I say we all move past last season and be excited about the future, I have a really good feeling about this upcoming season. Came across very humble and very positive. This is a very welcomed interview, short, sweet to the point and should give our fans a chance to give him another opportunity.
@AlishaHopex: fair play acknowledging the bad and how dreadful the end of last season was, can only learn from the mistakes…
@MarleyHannan: Acknowledging is the first step just have to hope they’ve learned from it. I think they have though from what’s been seen so far
@Parkersafc: The timing was always key too. Before they hired RLB any statement from Speakman would have just been met with derision by some sections of the fan base. Early days but there’s a more positive feel around the club than there has been for months. Hopefully optimism grows #safc
@_RGRZ: Fair play, good interview
@SAFC_Armour: all but confirming chris rigg signing of his first professional contract right at the end.
@BrownSlices: Nice bit of communication is never really a bad thing
@S4fcNi4ll: At the end he said that hopefully we gave some good news on some players in the next few days #SAFC
@Owensara5: Will get called an arse lick but nothing wrong with that. Mistakes acknowledged. All seems like we are making changes.
@jgrimmer53: Fair enough in accepting they got it wrong last season. The real test is if they have learnt from it
@EddyGray19: Acknowledged the mistakes made and hopefully lessons learned. Haway let’s kick on 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️🔴⚪️
@rokerroarontour: Still talking about planning and still no announcement of weekend before season. Rumoured to be Celta Vigo but who knows? No news on backroom staff so looks like still lumbered with PE teacher and same setup that failed with Beale & his eyes and ears. #safc
@ajwilso: Given we had to go through the work permit route to get RLB then we’ll likely have to do the same with any backroom staff he wants to bring so there may be a clear reason for a delay.
@Mumboelite_: Came across apologetic, which most people will feel was long overdue. Ultimately his comment on the transfer window will be the thing he is judged on the most. Let’s hope we get some signings in this month and have a good start to the season!
@_ThinWhiteDuke_: Positive will want to right the wrongs of last season. Great to see him at the training ground to support the new head coach its vital that these two form a good connection which will benefit the team moving forward
— Josh (@J0shuaJ0rdan) July 1, 2024
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