REGIS Le Bris has high hopes for Sunderland this season providing he can address the inconsistency which the head coach has highlighted as his "main concern".

In the six weeks he's spent with the players on the training ground since his appointment, Le Bris has seen and been excited by the "high level" his players can reach.

But the challenge now for the head coach is ensuring those levels don't drop.

"I think the main topic for us is the consistency," said Le Bris ahead of Saturday's opener at Cardiff.

"We can play very well during many phases for long minutes but we can also have a lack of consistency. In the league like the Championship you need to be consistent.

"We have confidence because we know we can reach a high level but the whole performance is the ability to keep that level. That's my main concern as a head coach."

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He added: "The pre-season was very interesting. Now, I have a better understanding of the group and the way of working.

"I think we've worked well. We've worked on the game model and we've had different experiences. The game against Marseille was very interesting because the pressing, for example, was a good exercise for us. It will be different against Cardiff, for sure, but for adaptation it was interesting. Now, we are ready to compete."

Sunderland look set to be without Leo Hjelde on Saturday, with the defender nursing a slight niggle. The former Leeds man was likely to be on the bench anyway, with Aji Alese in line to partner Luke O'Nien at centre-half in the absence of Dan Ballard, who is progressing well after knee surgery during this summer.

Le Bris said: "We just have Leo who maybe won't be available this weekend. The others, all are available."

On Ballard, he added: "He will be able to run and start some of the sessions between next week and the following week. He's doing very good."