Regis Le Bris wants his Sunderland team to get back to scoring goals but reckoned, “the final third is the most difficult area.”

He and his coaching staff have been working hard on just how they can improve their goal return but does not blame the forward players for only having managed two goals in the last six matches.

Ahead of the game against Stoke City in the Championship he smiled: “The goal is not that big and always shorter than expected with a big goalkeeper. It’s not only the two wingers or the striker, it could be the two 8s and obviously from set-pieces as well. We had maybe 30 set-pieces in the last three games, so many options to score. It comes from everyone.

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“We talked about the striker at the start of the season and said if we don’t have a striker we can’t score. But so far we’ve scored 26 goals and so it’s possible to score with other players. Not only a winger or someone else. It’s a question of responsibility, taking risks, and probably the counter pressing and set-pieces. There are many aspects we can develop during the training sessions and we should have the confidence as well because we are able to do it.”

Tommy Watson and Patrick Roberts are key and Le Bris explained: “In our game model the wingers are very important. They are always at the front and we build from the back and one of the main ideas is to give the ball to the wingers and then it’s a trigger to find spaces and combinations and so on.

“To disturb the [opposition] defence. The responsibility is very high. They can touch many balls, it’s not an easy job, probably you need a different kind of personality, you have to face one-on-one over and over again.

“At the minute it’s like a house. We built our foundations, we start with the goalkeeper and in the middle of the pitch we can unbalance the opponent.

“With always in our mindset how we can deal with the counter-attacks. It’s a big culture because many players are involved in that phase. It’s long and tough to develop this part of the culture.”

Le Bris was happy with how his team performed in the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United and said the result was an emotional one to take.

The next month is intense and he added: “Now this period is a sprint and we need to push with the good qualities of a young team. We have to be more creative. Don’t over think, just push and we will see. We can trust our culture and the players and the team at this part of the season and it’s very positive because we are still in the right place and we have to build on our qualities.

“Until January 4 we have eight games, five at home. We were disappointed at Sheffield United because we dominated and we lost and it’s a shame but it’s the reality. We have to deal with it. ”

He added: “You can struggle for a short period but the league is very long and it's not a struggle from a tactical point of view or quality, it’s more the results being everything.

“It’s now a sprint and it’s very positive. We enjoy playing many games and it’s a new opportunity to be back in the first part of the table which we can do with the quality we have.”

The supporters will be vital and he concluded: “The connection we have with our fans, they deserve to have positive emotions and we need them to get back the positive emotions.

“Sometimes it’s like a circle, it could be vicious or the opposite. It can change to a positive dynamic with only one good result.

“The connection with the fans is fantastic. One action from us can create massive energy in the stadium. It gives us momentum and we need them. It can create a difference.”