Sunderland boss Regis le Bris has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Tottenham at the Stadium of Light (kick-off 14:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Le Bris confirmed Jocelin Ta Bi, Romaine Mundle, Bertrand Traore and Simon Moore will not be available for Sunday. Daniel Ballard and Nilson Angulo are close to returning but will not be ready for Spurs. "The rest of the group are available."
He added that, because of their position in the league, he will not be taking risks with his team: "Sometimes you might think that you can take risks but, if the player gets a new injury, it might take a long time after the second injury [to return], so we didn't rush the process often. It won't be the case for Ballard or Nilson in this situation as well."
On the possibility of his team playing in Europe: "I don't know. Two seasons ago when I first started here, going to the Premier League was too early. We didn't set any goals but we said we will work hard, we will work for our identity. For this season, it is the same. If it is possible, we are ready to achieve the goal. We will see and then we will manage the next goal."
Although there is no outside pressure on Sunderland, he said there is "internal pressure" to keep up performances: "We want to win again at home because we struggled a bit in the last sequence. It's about our standards. The main goal of the season is probably achieved and it's easy to forget this wasn't easy. We showed togetherness and quality. We want to keep the standards."
Asked about midfielder Chris Rigg, Le Bris responded: "He's still young, but he showed exactly what we are talking about – great character, consistency and resilience. He's a great symbol of what we want to develop here. The league is so demanding, you need a strong team and you need great characters on the pitch. He is one of those."
On facing Spurs: "Tottenham are a big club but they have struggled to generate momentum this season and you never know how you create this vicious circle of injuries, efficiency, doubts. It means that this league is unforgiving, really demanding, it is hard to break. They have good quality but when you have doubt it is hard."
On their new boss Roberto de Zerbi: "He is a great coach, has strong experience, good ideas and a clear identity. He will be the best version of Roberto de Zerbi if he is himself, not someone else. So I think he will go all the way and it will be interesting. Performance in football is complex. It's often a question of confidence, belief. The psychology Is important. Probably the most important thing is to implement this belief."
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