Michael Gray Tanggapi Rumor Thomas Frank Gantikan Regis Le Bris

Legenda Sunderland Michael Gray memberikan tanggapan terkait rumor mengejutkan mengenai rencana manajemen klub untuk mengganti manajer Regis Le Bris dengan Thomas Frank menjelang akhir musim Liga Premier pada Jumat, 8 Mei 2026.

Spekulasi ini mencuat setelah Thomas Frank mengalami kegagalan saat menangani Tottenham Hotspur dan resmi menganggur sejak pertengahan Februari 2026, sementara Le Bris justru berhasil membawa The Black Cats promosi melalui babak play-off di Wembley pada Mei 2025.

Sunderland saat ini tengah berjuang di zona tujuh besar untuk mengamankan tiket kompetisi Eropa, meskipun performa tim dilaporkan menurun dengan hanya meraih satu poin dari tiga pertandingan terakhir menurut laporan Goal.com dan AcehGround.

Michael Gray menyatakan keheranannya atas isu pergantian pelatih tersebut mengingat performa impresif klub sebagai tim promosi yang melampaui ekspektasi publik musim ini.

"I was really shocked when I saw that, when those rumours started a couple of weeks ago about Regis maybe losing his job in the summer, when in my head I was probably thinking, are they going to offer him a new contract and give him the chance to take Sunderland to that next level?" ujar Michael Gray, Mantan Bek Sunderland.

Gray juga menyoroti adanya beberapa momen ketika skuad terlihat kehilangan sosok pemimpin di lapangan, terutama saat gelandang senior Granit Xhaka tidak masuk dalam susunan pemain utama.

"There's certain games this season, and maybe this is something that the owners at Sunderland have had a look at, where they've looked out of place, they've looked for that leader when Granit Xhaka's not been in the starting XI, and they fell short, which was a bit of a surprise." lanjut Michael Gray, Mantan Bek Sunderland.

Meskipun mendukung stabilitas di bawah arahan Le Bris, pria berusia 50 tahun tersebut mengakui bahwa pengalaman Thomas Frank di kasta tertinggi kompetisi Inggris bisa menjadi pertimbangan pemilik klub untuk melakukan perubahan besar.

"I don't know, football's a crazy world, isn't it? I mean, if they make the change, I think everybody in Sunderland will be a little bit disappointed. But if it is somebody like Thomas Frank that they're talking about replacing him, he's got Premier League experience, so he would certainly fit in and settle into that club very well. They seem to know best - sometimes change is not the right thing, but if you want to move to that next level, then change is imperative." kata Michael Gray, Mantan Bek Sunderland.

Mengenai peluang lolos ke kompetisi antarklub Eropa, Gray menyarankan agar Sunderland tetap fokus pada pembangunan skuad secara bertahap daripada memaksakan ekspektasi yang terlalu tinggi di musim perdana kembali ke Liga Premier.

"If it's there for you to take, I think you take it, but I do agree, I think it's one step at a time, and for me it's still baby steps. There was huge recruitment in the summer, 14 fresh faces came through the door, and they've just exceeded expectations with the manager and the players and I don't think anybody expected to see what they've seen from Sunderland this season." tutur Michael Gray, Mantan Bek Sunderland.

Ia membandingkan jalur perjalanan Sunderland dengan kebangkitan Leeds United, yang menekankan pentingnya membangun kemapanan sebagai tim papan tengah sebelum menargetkan posisi sepuluh besar secara konsisten di setiap musim.

"It's a very similar story to Leeds, I think you've got to go on a path of just establishing yourself as a Premier League side over the next couple of seasons, and then your expectations rise a little bit and you want to try and finish in those top 10 positions if you possibly can, and maybe even have that chance every single season of jumping into one of those European places. But I think to do that, you need a bigger squad, the recruitment's got to be perfect every single time that you bring in a fresh face. Players leaving the club, I think we expect players to be leaving the club. So it's kind of a journey that they're on at the moment, but that journey started off in a wonderful way over the last couple of seasons under Regis Le Bris." pungkas Michael Gray, Mantan Bek Sunderland.

Berdasarkan data jadwal pertandingan, Sunderland dijadwalkan akan menutup musim 2025-26 dengan menghadapi sejumlah klub besar di Stadium of Light dan laga tandang di Liverpool.

Pertandingan penutup musim tersebut akan berlangsung pada 24 Mei 2026, yang juga menjadi penentu apakah manajemen akan mempertahankan Regis Le Bris atau beralih ke Thomas Frank.