FOR Regis Le Bris, the first couple of weeks at Sunderland has been about getting to know his squad but where one player is concerned there was no introduction required.

Le Bris and Adil Aouchiche know each other well, for Sunderland's new head coach previously managed the French forward at Lorient.

But the fact the French top tier side sanctioned the sale of Aouchiche to Sunderland last summer when Le Bris was in charge prompted some speculation of a fallout.

Sources in France say that wasn't the case and claim Aouchiche's exit was driven by the player's desire for more action, with Le Bris said to be of the opinion at the time that the now-21-year-old wasn't ready for regular first team football.

If that was the case, perhaps Aouchiche's first season at Sunderland has shown Le Bris to have been right. The former PSG youngster made just 10 starts in an underwhelming first campaign on Wearside, though the circumstances - Sunderland's struggles and the head coach changes - made things difficult for a young player trying to get to grips with life in the Championship.

Now, though, Aouchiche needs to kick on and, you would think, will be determined to show Le Bris that he's ready to make a major impact.

That's the challenge he's been set by his boss, who is looking forward to seeing Aouchiche in action when pre-season gets underway this afternoon. It's not clear whether the attacking midfielder will play at South Shields or Gateshead but it's his first chance to show the head coach he should be at the heart of his plans for the coming campaign.

"I haven't had deep conversations with any of the players at the moment," said Le Bris, when quizzed on Aouchiche at his media unveiling.

"I will have these types of conversations at the end of the week and next week.

"Adil, like me, we've had many experiences since our work together at Lorient. It'll be very interesting to see him in the next game and try to understand how he has evolved during this period. We'll see if he can be an interesting player for the team."

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Aouchiche featured prominently at the end of last season, with seven of his 10 Championship starts coming in the last nine games of the campaign.

Back in May, then-interim head coach Mike Dodds said: "He's a good lad, a really good lad.

"I forget he's only 21 at times. Sometimes I need to check myself a little bit and I treat him with the fact I feel he's a little bit older in terms of maturity. He's a good footballer and has lovely technique. I do feel he has to be more consistent with his in-possession play at times.

"He does some things that are really nice and catch the eye. But on the flip side of that, I think he does some immature things at times. I do think there needs to be a maturity aspect to his game but he's a good player."