Regis Le Bris spent two years at FC Lorient before arriving at Sunderland in the summer.
Le Bris left the French club after their relegation from Ligue 1 last season.
L’Equipe have made a trip to England to find out more about the work done by the 49-year-old so far at Sunderland.
Sunderland are currently fourth in the Championship table, two points behind second placed Burnley and five behind leaders Leeds United.
Le Bris has been voted the Manager of the Month on two occasions this season and the newspaper claims this shows he was able to quickly adapt in England.
“Here, everything isn’t so different. It’s mainly a question of energy,” he said.
“At Lorient, for example, even if we had a failure at the end [with relegation], I had found the connection again at the end and I had it immediately here: it means that I’m with people who love football and are ready to have a common project and develop day by day.
“When this challenge presented itself, I said to myself: ‘Come on, let’s go for it.’ I wanted to work in a club with a well-identified identity, with development. In England, Germany or Denmark, it doesn’t matter.”
The manager didn’t bring his assistant from Lorient to the English club and on this topic, Le Bris explained: “In some way, it’s not so bad because by working with men who were already there before, you can concentrate exclusively on the development of your team.
“The knowledge of the players, the [English] staff in place has it at their fingertips. It was extremely complementary immediately.”
The Black Cats manager is enjoying life in England, even though he hasn’t managed to have much time for himself.
“Here, there is a great diversity of tactical styles. I feed off it, it’s accelerated training! I haven’t had a day off for a long time, we’re a bit like monks. It’s football, football, football every day,” he added.
Sunderland’s Patrick Roberts shared his view on the manager, while their French striker, Wilson Isidor, gave a insight into Le Bris’ methods.
“I didn’t know him before he arrived but if he came here, it’s because he was a good coach. Since the first day, he’s been efficient. He brought us new ideas, a style that helps us to be efficient and he’s modern, capable of changing his playing ideas depending on the opponent. He tells us that it is important to be adaptable,” Roberts said.
On Le Bris’ management skills, Isidor added: “He’s not someone who’s going to shout, he’s going to make you understand things through methodology and for us, it works.”
The French outlet also interviewed Theresa, the landlady of The Colliery Tavern, a pub close to the Stadium of Light.
“Here, people breathe for Sunderland,” she said.
On Sunderland’s rivalry with their neighbours, Newcastle United, Theresa added: “How do you measure the rivalry with the Magpies?”
Darren, a Sunderland fan, was at The Colliery Tavern at the time L’Equipe visited the pub, joked: “He [Le Bris] has managed to make us love the French.”
