Regis Le Bris has spent three months in the North East of England now, and most of it in one particular spot.
“I spend most of the time here at the training centre,” the Sunderland boss tells Sky Sports with a smile – after collecting the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for August.
That is not to say he isn’t happy about it. Football is the 48-year-old’s passion.
“But I enjoy it, being here with the team,” he continues. “And I like the atmosphere in the club, and the relationship with the fans.
“I love the way that we live football here.”
Regis Le Bris won the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for August
Le Bris was a slightly left-field appointment by the Black Cats in the summer having previously worked only in France.
But his experience in youth football with a series of clubs, most recently Lorient – where he managed their youth and B teams for a decade before stepping into the senior role – makes him a great fit for a club with an incredibly young squad.
Four wins on the bounce to start the season certainly helped him win over the locals, in a city where football is lived and breathed.
It suits Le Bris to a tee.
“I felt the energy very early when I arrived here,” he says.
“It’s a strong point here, the identity and the history of the club, and the way the fans are linked with the team.
“The expectations are high, we agree, but they are behind us. I think they will stay behind us when it will be difficult as well.
“But we need to deserve their energy. If we play in a way they like it can reinforce the relationship.
“If the energy of the fans is behind us it will be very useful for when we’ll be faced with many problems.”
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The first difficulty came at the weekend as they suffered their first setback with a surprise 3-2 defeat at Plymouth.
Le Bris knows, however, that it is a long season in the Championship and there are always going to be setbacks and it is the response that is key.
Everything is a new experience for the Frenchman, and he is a man who loves to broaden his own horizons.
“Step by step and day by day I’m still learning,” Le Bris says.
“I thought working in England would be a very good experience, and I’m living it right now.
“I’ve always been very interested in discovering new experiences.
“I like the connection and the way we can discover new people, another way of thinking, another way of playing and another way of managing.”
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And one of the reasons Le Bris likes working with young players is their ability to be moulded, their desire to learn and get better.
There is a feeling in the building of a willingness to improve. I like this in a club.
“We are in a good place. We want to build a strong culture with the ability to solve different kinds of problems.
“The processes we have during training sessions and the whole week of working together are in a good place.”
The dent at Plymouth may help Sunderland and Le Bris long term this season. Expectations were creeping and creeping up after their start to the campaign, and a little bit of a jolt back to earth can sometimes help.
Le Bris will manage it how he can, and control the controllables.
“The expectation is always high for this kind of club,” he says. The only thing we can control is our way of working.
“The opponent, the scenario of the season, it is all unpredictable.
“I didn’t expect it, for example, to win the four first games. We did it, but it wasn’t expected.
“We don’t know what will happen in the weeks to come.
“Right now I just want to focus on the process, how we want to play and improve, the way we want to integrate new players and solve problems.
“Then we’ll see after that.”
You feel as though it will be a bright season at the Stadium of Light with Le Bris at the helm.
