REGIS LE BRIS says Aaron Connolly is desperate to face some of the demons of his past and make his debut against former club Hull City.

Sunderland head to the Tigers knowing a victory would ensure they end the day top of the Championship.

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Irish forward Connolly, 24, revealed last week that he underwent treatment for alcohol addiction after he was released by Hull this summer.

The brave ace, who famously burst on the Premier League scene aged 19 with Brighton thanks to a brace against Tottenham, opened up about how drinking had impacted his life and career to coincide with World Mental Health Day.

Following his spell in rehab, Connolly was handed a chance to resurrect his career by Sunderland.

And after scoring a couple of goals for the Under-21s in midweek, Le Bris says he is desperate to be unleashed against the side he got eight goals for last term despite claiming that his “life was a mess” while he was on Humberside.

The French coach said: “I think that it was a specific goal for him to be ready for this game.

“We haven’t rushed the project, it was perfect, and I don’t know if we will use him but he is available.”

He continued: “We knew before we knew we needed three or four weeks to assess his physical level.

“He was really fit at the beginning which was good news for us.

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“He needed to get to know his teammates and the team. We had two opportunities to play with the U21s and he did very well, he scored which is good for a striker.

“He needed time to connect with a structure, team and team-mates and now he’s ready.”

On the bravery of Connolly sharing his issues with the world, Le Bris said: “It is very interesting to share these ideas instead of hiding and pretending that it doesn’t exist.

“The first thing is to recognise your mistakes and then the next is to avoid any repetition. 

“So it’s not a problem for us to talk about any problems a player has had in their career, whether it is a small detail on the pitch or a bigger one off it.

“I’m OK with that and it is a problem for the players in the dressing-room.”

And Le Bris says that he has not had to put a shoulder around the forward since he bared his soul.

But he did stress that everyone at the club would be there for him if he needed them.

Le Bris added: “I don’t exactly know Aaron’s personality, it’s been three weeks now, but I think that he doesn’t need specific attention.

“He knows what is important for him and that it is important to succeed now and he’s very connected to that project.

“We’ll take care of him and I’m not sure he needs attention at the moment.”

He will be vying with Wilson Isidor to start up front but Eliezer Mayenda is not expected to be available after injury until next weekend.

Dan Ballard is also likely to be back to face Oxford but summer signing Salis Abdul Samed – who is yet to play for the Black Cats – remains several weeks away from being available.

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Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde moved into the lead of the championship with victory in the penultimate DTM race of 2024 at Hockenheim, as Mirko Bortolotti could only salvage fifth place.

Starting from pole position, van der Linde was able to outduel Winward Mercedes driver Lucas Auer to claim his third victory of the season and overturn a 12-point deficit to Bortolotti into a two-point advantage ahead of the title decider on Sunday.

Ayanchan Guven completed the podium spots for Manthey EMA Porsche, while Auer’s team-mate Maro Engel kept his slim championship hopes alive by finishing fourth ahead of SSR Lamborghini rival Bortolotti.

At the start of the race, van der Linde pulled away cleanly from pole position, with Auer consolidating second place after securing his first front-row start in the DTM since 2022.

Bortolotti and Engel had qualified out of position in seventh and ninth respectively, but both were able to climb up the order on the opening lap, rising up to fourth and fifth behind Guven.

When the pit window opened at the 20-minute mark, Engel immediately pulled into the pitlane, with Winward sending him back out after servicing his car in just six seconds.

Bortolotti followed him on the next lap, but a sluggish 8.2s stop – down to a slow front-left tyre change – left him vulnerable to his Mercedes rival.

Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

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Although the Italian managed to rejoin the track in front despite being delayed, Engel already had his tyres up to temperature and muscled his way past at Turn 8, taking fourth position away from him.

At the end of the same lap, van der Linde finally peeled into the pits from the lead of the race, with Auer – who had been on his tail in the first stint – covering him next time out.

Winward’s decision to delay Auer’s pitstop initially appeared to pay off as he rejoined the track at the front, but a lap later the Abt driver was able to pass him into Turn 2 to reinstate the status quo.

The Austrian kept the pressure up on van der Linde for the remainder of the race, with the two drivers even making contact at the hairpin on lap 30.

Ultimately, van der Linde was able to do enough to fend off his Mercedes rival, taking the chequered flag by 0.508s to put himself in the best position to win the 2024 DTM title in Sunday’s finale.

Guven had a lonely race en route to third in the lead Porsche, while Engel held off Bortolotti to put himself 20 points behind van der Linde in the championship standings.

Jules Gounon, substituting for Luca Stolz at HRT Mercedes, rapidly closed in on Bortolotti in the closing stages of the races, but ultimately had to settle for sixth place on his DTM debut.

The top Schubert BMW driver on Saturday was Rene Rast in seventh, ahead of HRT driver Arjun Maini and team-mate Marco Wittmann. Nicki Thiim completed the top 10 for SSR Performance.

Emil Frey Ferrari’s Jack Aitken was the only retirement from the race, as 19 of 20 drivers made it to the finish.

There was venom in the reaction from Southampton’s stunned fans when Anthony Taylor’s final whistle sounded. It was the sharpest of contrasts from the reception at half-time.

The statistics illustrate Martin’s reliance on passing, as they rank fourth in the Premier League with an average of 528 passes per game and sixth measured in possession, 55.6%.

Martin must now reflect on the more telling statistic that Southampton are bottom of the Premier League with one point from eight games, conceding 18 goals, second only to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

A journey through Martin’s managerial career does not offer any suggestion he will change his modus operandi, even though there must be increasing concerns around Southampton that such a poor start will be a main ingredient in a recipe for relegation.

From the start of his time at MK Dons from November 2019 his team were top of the table for both passing and possession in League One, averaging 469 passes per game and 58.5% possession until the end of that season, then heading that measure again the following season with 544 passes per game and 64% possession.

MK Dons finished 19th in 2019-20 then 13th in 2020-21, his approach earning him a move to Swansea City, where he succeeded Steve Cooper, Leicester City’s manager here, before the start of the following season.

The trend continued in south Wales, Swansea finishing top of the Championship passing standings with 598 per game and also the possession statistics with 63.9% as they finished 15th. The following season they were top of passing with 594 per game and second in possession on 64% as they finished 10th.

It was next stop Southampton for Martin, his style reflected once more as they played more passes per game than any other team, 667, enjoying 66.1% possession, the highest in the division as they came up via the play-offs.