​HARRISON, NEW JERSEY – JULY 30: Régis Le Bris, manager of Sunderland AFC, looks on from the touchline during the first half of a preseason friendly against Leeds United at Sports Illustrated Stadium on July 30, 2026 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images) | Getty Images One more to go…It’s usually a game of two halves and, by my reckoning, it’s been a pre-season of three parts – and we only have one game to go until we countdown to Ipswich.There was our trip to York that got early minutes into the legs, especially for those few who didn’t take part in the World Cup. Then we went on to the US for multiple events to promote the club, and we threw in a few games of footy in the sweltering heat while we were at it.The third and final part of our close season was proclaimed quite early on by the manager as the most important – and after our win against Lens, we’re now on the final leg of our French double-header, that brings Stade Rennais to the Stadium of Light on Saturday.When you read it out loud, it appears to have been a definitive plan to ramp up nicely to the opening day during a summer that has been impacted significantly by players returning from the World Cup. It was clear against Lens that Le Bris has asked everyone to collectively step up the intensity and, knowing our manager as we do, we all know that he likes the final pre-season game to be as close to the real thing as possible.And how are we looking? I hear you ask.Well, I like what I’m seeing.For a start, our one signing looks impressive, and he’s not even guaranteed a place in our starting XI. Thomas Meunier was literally head and shoulders above most of the other players on display, and you can see a few balls coming in from the left that might be looking for him at the back post this season.When we’re looking at signings this summer, one thing we have to keep in mind is that all of those players we gave a first season to in the Premier League last season are now one year older, wiser and, in theory, more prepared.The likes of Sadiki, Diarra and Talbi now know what to expect this season, and as we know how the club now functions, they will all have development plans for the years ahead to build on last year. In the past, we’ve allowed promising players to stagnate because they’re young; the theory was that they should just get better without any input. We now put the work in to do everything in our power to make this happen.The one player I left off that list was Chris Rigg, because it feels like he looks the part ahead of the season opener. When you remember that his first full season where he was consistently involved in the first team was our promotion season, you realise how well he did last season.This is especially true when he was obviously lightweight compared to the majority of opponents, but seeing him in pre-season suggests that this is going to be as much of a thing this year. Again, the club will be wary of placing any more