Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris wants his promotion-chasing side to “build momentum” heading into the final weeks of the season following their 1-0 win over Millwall at the Stadium of Light.
Trai Hume scored the only goal of the game for the Black Cats to strengthen their grip on fourth place in the Championship, with a place in the play-offs now seeming increasingly likely.
Victory comes following a 3-0 defeat to Coventry and a draw against Preston prior to the international break and Le Bris was pleased with his side’s reaction.
He said: “It’s a new chapter, we cannot waste time. It’s important to build this momentum and be accurate, precise for every single minute we play now because the end of the season will be tough.
“The games we play will be very tight, every detail counts and we need to build this momentum now to be ready for the end of the season.
“After the defeat at Coventry we could’ve struggled a bit more. When the confidence is dropping very deep, sometimes it’s difficult to react and to restart the team.
“This step was important and so far we’ve always showed good reaction after defeats.
“For the end of the season, I think the players, the club we are really connected with the goal we want to achieve.
“It would be difficult for automatic promotion. So for us the only solution is through the play-offs and we know the semi-finals will be very tight.
“Every detail counts and we have to build these details now and don’t have to waste time.”
Following a positive start to the game from Sunderland, Hume hit a fantastic volley from a well-worked corner routine to put the Black Cats ahead in the 20th minute.
They had the chance to wrap the match up when Luke O’Nien had a penalty saved late on, but Hume’s goal proved to be the difference.
Speaking about the full-back, Le Bris added: “For Trai, so far he’s been really consistent. He didn’t train much during the international break, even before, and he was ready to compete at that level.
“He’s really important for us, very versatile and a consistent player in different positions. If he can score, we can expect more.”
Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson made some comfortable stops from Japhet Tanganga and Luke Cundle in the first half, but Millwall’s best chance of the game came after the break when Josh Coburn had a header saved.
Defeat sees the Lions remain six points outside of the play-off spots, but boss Alex Neil admitted he was not “displeased” with his team’s display.
“They played like a 4-4-2 block at times, playing through that’s not easy,” Neil said.
“You probably need to work around it and play more crosses in the box, that’s where our chances came from in the second half. I just didn’t think we were as progressive with our passing as we can be.
“I thought it was a reasonable performance for the team, I wasn’t displeased with the performance, I was probably more displeased in the manner in which we lost the game, which was a set-play.”
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