Lebrides emphasized that Sunderland will actively face the serious challenges.

Sunderland will host Dinamo Zagreb in the fourth round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Lebrides stated in a press conference that his team will face the upcoming challenge with a positive attitude.

In the third round of the Europa League, Sunderland got off to a dream start thanks to a goal from Tutlov, but conceded a goal in the second half and were ultimately held to a 1-1 draw by Lech Poznań. Sunderland currently sits in 18th place with 4 points, putting them in a precarious position in their race for direct qualification for the round of 16.

In addition, in the earlier Premier League match, Sunderland lost 1-3 to newly promoted Coventry City after Enzo Lefèvre scored a penalty while they were trailing, and they are still not out of the relegation zone.

Facing the challenges ahead, Sunderland manager Lebrues said, "I would describe this situation as the growing pains that come with it. Was it unexpected? I don't think so. We are experiencing the toughest challenge in Sunderland's history, playing in four competitions at the same time. This is what we worked hard for last season, and we are certainly happy to be where we are, but playing a game every three days is obviously much more difficult than playing a game every week."

“We are a newly formed team, and we’ve only been together for a year. If we can’t perform at the same level as we did against Coventry, we can’t win the game. I think the team is still competitive, but the challenge is how to maintain that level of performance.”

Lebrice pointed out, "This is indeed a very big test, but it is actually very positive to be able to go through such a situation, because only by truly facing these challenges can you know what changes and improvements you need to make. For me, this is also a completely new experience."

“When we need to prepare for a game after a game, we sometimes miss the opportunity to analyze and reflect. Therefore, we are constantly adjusting and improving the team’s preparation arrangements, which I think is a very positive change.”

When discussing the squad situation, Lebrides said, "We don't have many injured players, but the injuries to the injured players are quite serious. According to the initial diagnosis, Habib Diarra is expected to need about 6 weeks to recover, and we feel sorry for him."

“Daniel Ballard has started training on the stationary bike, which is very good progress. He is very close to returning to the court for running training, and our goal is to get him back to training by mid-December.”

Image source: Internet