WHEN Aaron Connolly had his first meeting with Regis Le Bris in September, two things immediately struck the striker about Sunderland's head coach.

Firstly, his calmness. But also his knowledge of the game.

And after two months of working for the Frenchman on Wearside, Connolly's view on his boss is very much unchanged.

"He's the calming head that we all need leading the team," says the striker.

Calm but meticulous and tireless in his coaching and preparation for games. Connolly has been blown away by Le Bris' knowledge and believes Sunderland are reaping the rewards of the head coach and his staff's around-the-clock work.

"He's obviously tactically spot on as every has seen," said the former Brighton striker.

"The work we put in on the training ground with the help of the coaches, together you can see the amount of work they put in every day. It's up to us to work just as hard on the training pitch then Saturday and Tuesdays come a lot easier."

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Le Bris has talked openly about his first meeting with Connolly, when nothing was left off the table as the striker revealed his off the pitch battles to Sunderland's boss and his desire to get his career back on track.

Le Bris - who had already studied footage of the striker in action - was taken by Connolly's honesty and hunger and instantly decided he wanted to sign him.

But what were Connolly's first impressions of Le Bris?

"Calm, just very, very calm," he says.

"And so much knowledge of the game. We had lunch and we spoke openly and honestly and you could instantly tell how much knowledge he had and how much time he puts into what he does.

"Obviously we're all seeing the benefits of that and long may that continue."

Sunderland are indeed benefiting from Le Bris' knowledge and work-ethic and went into the international break on the back of an eight-game unbeaten stretch, but their momentum was halted somewhat by three successive draws last week.

The Black Cats remain top of the Championship, however, and while there's perhaps external surprise at how well Sunderland have fared in the early stages of the campaign, Connolly insists that's not the case in the dressing room.

"We know how talented the group is so I don't think it's a surprise that we're competing," he said.

"And obviously a club of this size has to be competing because there's 48,000 fans week in, week out backing the team.

"We won't be pinching ourselves but we know it's still early and will stay level headed. But if we keep going the way we're going we can keep dreaming."

Connolly, who is still looking for his first Sunderland goal, has largely had to settle for cameos from the bench so far, with the 24-year-old having started just the once.

But he knows patience is key and is happy to play the long game.

He said: "Every player in the squad is itching to start, it's just about being patient.

"The Championship is a long, long season. This time last year I think I had four or five goals maybe, and then from January on I didn't play. It can change very quickly so I just need to make sure I'm ready.

"I think the competition can only benefit the team."