SM Caen manager Nicolas Seube has used Sunderland’s failed efforts to sign Alexandre Mendy as an example of the club’s approach.
According to Actu.fr, the Ligue 2 side’s manager spent a week doing an internship with the Black Cats as part of the BEPF diploma program.
The Frenchman was welcomed by his compatriot Régis Le Bris, who has been in charge at Sunderland since the summer.
Seube was able to notice the difference in infrastructure between the clubs in England and his country. He’s of the belief Sunderland don’t make best use of the resources and used their refusal to make an improved bid for Caen’s Mendy as an example to make his point.
Sunderland wanted to sign Mendy, but Caen weren’t convinced by their proposal.
“They have big means, which is logical given the amounts of their TV rights. But they don’t do anything with it. We saw it with the Alexandre Mendy case, they had set an amount and did not want to exceed it,” he said.
During his time at the Championship side, the French club’s manager was able to closely observe their day-to-day activities. He also thanked Régis Le Bris from welcoming him at Sunderland.
“It’s a club with very large infrastructures, even in the second division. Régis Le Bris welcomed me very well and I was able to participate in everything,” Seube explained.
He then went on discuss the difference in the work culture between the French and the English clubs. The Caen boss was impressed by the ‘intensity’ during training sessions at Sunderland.
“Today, what I remember is a work culture that is different,” he added.
“Their technique is perhaps below what we can experience in France but work and respect for the rules are something they have had since they were very young. They played on Tuesday, and I saw training on Thursday. I can tell you that the intensity was still high.”
