RLB: NFFC

Regis Le Bris described his side's heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest as a 'punch in the face' before explaining the decision to bring Chris Rigg off for Reinildo at half time, and then leaving the likes of Chemsdine Talbi and Lutsharel Geertruida on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

PUNCH IN THE FACE

“It hurts, it's painful, because it's not the face we want to show, so for the players, I think it was like a punch in their face, and for me as well."

SECOND HALF WAS A SMALL IMPROVEMENT

"After that, you can't complain, you can't look for excuses, you just have to go forward, and in the second half, this was our ambition, at least fight, at least show that you have a strong energy, you are proud to be a Sunderland player, and our fans were behind us, to be fair, so they were probably better than us today, and we tried to change the dynamic in the second half, we didn't give up, which is the minimum.”

BETTER TEAM WON

“It hurts, it's painful, and it's a strong reminder about the level of the league, how demanding it is, and when we are not at the level expected, you get punished really quickly, because they have good players, they are well organised, they press well, they were really efficient on set pieces, and finally they killed us."

NAIVE WAY OF PLAYING

"We had this conversation at half-time, they were well organised to press us, they were good, and we tried to play under pressure, probably with a bit of naivety, because it wasn't possible. So the game was really open, and we conceded fouls, and gave the opportunity to attack the box. Forest played with a high level of intensity, showed 'we want to win', it was a must-win for them. It wasn't the case for us, it's clear, because we were not intense enough in duels, not clean with the ball, making the right decisions under pressure, and the difference was big, and it's just a consequence. So I repeat, it's a strong reminder, we did well before, but today it wasn't the case.”

HALF TIME SUB

"It wasn't Chris' fault, it's clear. It was a tactical decision. I wanted to change the shape to give more intensity with Rei. He has intensity and experience. It gave us the opportunity to change the structure. We needed to change the dynamic and it was the case in the second half but we didn't score."

TALBI/MAYENDA/GEERTRUIDA LEFT OUT

"It's hard to change. In the second half I think we were a bit better. We had an opportunity to score, we had the feeling it was possible to change something but after that it was harder from the bench to give something new or different."

FULLBACK DEPTH

"We have different options in this position. Trai did really well last week so I think he deserved to start. We have three strong full-backs able to play at that level, so it was my decision."