MORE FROM LE BRIS

Regis Le Bris has defended his team's mindset in the aftermath of Sunderland's FA Cup exit, claiming that they didn't underestimate the opposition and that the defeat is a learning opportunity.

PERFORMANCE VS MINDSET

"It was mainly about performance. It's fragile - three days before, we won at Leeds. It was an important game and it wasn't easy to win there at Leeds, we deserve full credit for that. Then after that, at the professional level, you have to reset quickly, change your mind, and go like it was your first time in professional football. It's not easy to do that, so you have to learn it."

NO COMPLACENCY

"I don't think we were complacent. I don't think so. It's not my feeling. It's more about the ability to reset. It's not easy, to be fair, but we are at the best level in England, so we have to show it. It wasn't the case today."

MISSED CONSISTENCY

"In this competition, it's more about mindset, fighting spirit, rather than the tactical or technical qualities. Probably, we were not consistent enough [in these areas]. I think some of the players were at their level, but especially to create the solution today, we were not good enough."

POOR PITCH

"The pitch levels everything. It's not an excuse, but it is what it is. The conditions are the conditions. Even with that, I think we should have found a solution, and it wasn't the case. For our player, you always need to experience different situations. Sometimes it's tough, and even negative, because of the result. I hope they will learn from this experience."

NOT UP FOR THE CUP

“We won the two previous fixtures in the FA Cup, and it wasn't easy, Everton and Oxford. So we showed that we wanted to [progress], but sometimes you can't. You need to accept how relentless the competition is, so it's about key moments. We still need to learn. I think our team is really young. There are 14 new players in the squad that you can't manage every situation. So I hope it will be a good experience for the future. Sometimes it's negative, but it's even stronger [for you]. So I hope it will help our players.”