ON Sunday, Regis Le Bris admitted that in the first half of Sunderland’s game at the MKM Stadium in particular, Hull City’s playing style surprised him. That is unlikely to be an issue tomorrow.

Sunderland head to Kenilworth Road to face a Luton Town side who stick determinedly to their guns. Long balls, aerial tussles, knockdowns in the 18-yard box. It worked for the Hatters two seasons ago, as they won promotion to the Premier League, and it almost came up trumps again last season as they narrowly failed to cling on to their top-flight status.

Their promotion success featured a play-off semi-final win over Sunderland in which an injury-ravaged Black Cats defence was unable to deal with the physical bombardment they were subjected to during the decisive leg, so while Luton have not started the current campaign especially impressively – they were 17th in the table after the weekend games – they will not be changing tack tomorrow.

Le Bris’ side will have to handle Luton’s physical threat more successfully than Tony Mowbray’s patched-up team did a couple of seasons ago. Sunderland’s current boss accepts that as a given. However, he is also keen to stress the importance of imposing the Black Cats’ own style onto the opposition. Resisting an aerial barrage is part of the battle. Getting the ball down and trying to play is just as important.

“We don’t know exactly what will happen before the game, but Luton’s style is well known and very efficient when it is played well,” said Le Bris. “I don’t think they will be changing their style of play because they have certain strengths and when they use them well, it is difficult to cope with.

“It is hard to deal with that direct play and second balls. It is very hard to play like that, and when they do it well, it is very difficult to stop them. This part of the game will happen, so we have to be able to deal with those type of situations.

“But then we also have to be able to impose our own style of play on the game. If we can keep the ball, if we can dominate the pitch, then that will give them less options, less weapons and less opportunities to unbalance us.

“This is the main objective for us. Do we want to be proactive on the pitch or just reactive to what they are doing? We have to impose our style, that will be the main concern for the game.”

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When Le Bris was starting his coaching career in the youth academies of Rennes and Lorient, Luton’s style was regarded as the epitome of the English game.

That is no longer the case, with the arrival of a flurry of foreign coaches such as Le Bris, and a marked shift in the mentality and approach of most domestic head coaches, having resulted in a move away from the preferred playing style of the past.

Today, teams throughout the Football League are playing out from the back and seeking to retain possession. High-pressing has replaced high-passing in the majority of cases.

There are still throwbacks though, and while Le Bris admits he hasn’t really had to encounter a team that tend to be quite as direct as Luton in a competitive environment yet, a pre-season trip to Bradford City gave him a pretty good idea of what to expect.

“Football is evolving everywhere,” he said. “Maybe you have an idea of what a certain country’s football style is, but that is always changing. I think that is true here. But then, that style (Luton’s) can still be very effective because it is very hard to defend against.

“I remember we played a friendly game a bit like that in the summer against Bradford. It was very interesting for me because it was a totally different challenge. They were very tough, and when that style is well played like that, it is very difficult to counter.

“We need to be prepared for that part of football, but as I keep saying, we need to impose our style as well. If we can play as we play, in that atmosphere and against that opposition, then we will cause problems of our own. If we are brave enough to do that, it will be a problem for them. Then, if they are better, we will just have to suffer from their direct play and it will be difficult in that case.”

And while a trip to Kenilworth Road might not be on every football fan’s bucket list, Le Bris is looking forward to experiencing a uniquely English setting.

“I’m looking forward to the new experience,” he said. “I like discovering new stadiums, a new style of play and new teams.

“It is always about working out how we can solve the problem to win at the end. To be competitive in this league, you have to be able to do that. The variety of different styles is so huge.”