KRISTJAAN SPEAKMAN says the Sunderland hierarchy were always confident Regis Le Bris would be able to hit the ground running following his appointment as head coach earlier this summer.

Le Bris was appointed as the Black Cats’ new boss at the end of June, despite only having two years of senior coaching experience with French side Lorient.

The second of those seasons ended in relegation from Ligue 1, but Speakman and the rest of Sunderland’s executive team were always confident in the 48-year-old’s coaching abilities.

Things could hardly have gone better in Le Bris’ first month of competitive action on Wearside, with Sunderland having claimed maximum points from their opening four Championship matches.

Le Bris’ side top the table ahead of this weekend’s trip to Plymouth Argyle, so while Speakman is taking nothing for granted with so much of the season still to go, he is more than satisfied with the way things have started.

"We were really confident we were chasing down and acquiring a high-level coach,” said the sporting director. “And not just that, someone who was aligned with the way that we see the game and the team.

“We were confident he could help us build the identity of team we want. We were confident on all those things and, look, you can never say you know how things are going to play out, it's professional sport at the highest level and no one is going to roll over for you. But I’m really pleased for him.”

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Speakman is also delighted to see Sunderland’s backroom staff able to celebrate a successful start to the season.

The club’s coaching staff came in for a fair amount of criticism in the second half of last season, as the Black Cats plummeted down the table, with Mike Dodds finding himself in the firing line after an unsuccessful spell as interim head coach.

Dodds is a key member of Le Bris’ coaching team, along with Michael Proctor and Alessandro Barcherini, and while Speakman continues to oversee the search for a new assistant boss, he feels the influence of the current backroom group should not be overlooked.

“There’s been a lot of criticism on backroom staff and those sorts of things, which I don't think is fair on those individuals,” he said. “I'm more than happy to take that because I'm accountable for all of that.

“I think we have some really good people here, in coaching, performance, data, analysis and all of those types of things. They're there to support Regis and give the best chance possible (of succeeding), and thankfully we've been able to start well. The team is in a good spot, and long may that continue.”