Sunderland fans won't quite know what to expect from the new Frenchman occupying the Black Cats dug-out now, with Regis Le Bris joining from Lorient to put an end to the lack of a permanent boss troubling those on Wearside.
Fresh off relegation in Ligue 1, before walking away to move to England, Le Bris will be judged solely on how he copes with the pressures of Championship football.
Yet, the Sunderland fanbase will be wanting and almost demanding a much improved season ahead, after finishing in a dire 16th spot last campaign.
That will be easier said than done, however, with the pressures of the Sunderland job post proving too much for some in recent memory, but the relative unknown entity in the Black Cats hot-seat could begin to endear himself to his new set of supporters if he was to get rid of a forgotten, injury-prone figure soon.
Dennis Cirkin's time at Sunderland
Once a promising first-team gem at the Stadium of Light, it's fair to say Dennis Cirkin's career for the Wearside outfit is now a sorry state of affairs.
The former Tottenham Hotspur youth product had an extremely productive 22/23 campaign, before becoming plagued with injuries this season just finished, with five goals managed from down the left-flank.
Since then, however, Cirkin has found himself regularly in and out of the treatment room at Sunderland, with only eight games managed in the Championship during the entirety of the 23/24 season.
That caused a whole host of issues for the struggling Black Cats consequently, with a lack of a nailed-down left-back making this a problem area for the various different managers that walked in and out of Sunderland before Les Bris' arrival.
It remains to be seen whether the injury-prone 22-year-old is in Les Bris' plans going forward, with the likes of Leo Hjelde and Aji Alese at his disposal at left-back as well, with Cirkin's excessive wage a potential factor as to why Sunderland could be prepared to offload the ex-Spurs defender soon.
Cirkin's wage at Sunderland
As per Capology, Cirkin's salary at Sunderland currently stands at a handsome £10k-per-week, meaning he earns the same amount as Anthony Patterson in-between the sticks at the Black Cats, despite Patterson being everpresent last season in the league, minus the final day.
Cirkin's hefty pay packet actually remarkably makes him a higher earner than wanted man Jobe Bellingham, who earns just £6.5k-per-week, even with the 18-year-old being fresh off a breakthrough season at the Stadium of Light.
Plenty more will be presumably expected of him under Les Bris' guidance, after picking up seven goals and a solitary assist from 47 appearances during his debut season.
1. Jack Clarke
£16.9k-per-week
2. Daniel Ballard
£15k-per-week
3. Bradley Dack (now released)
£15k-per-week
4. Patrick Roberts
£12.5k-per-week
5. Anthony Patterson
£10k-per-week
= 5. Dennis Cirkin
£10k-per-week
Sunderland have shown they won't hesitate in binning off high earners too, as seen in Bradley Dack being let go of on the club's recent retained list, who earned an excessive £15k-per-week.
Cirkin could be the next for the chop, therefore, with Sunderland hoping that another club would gamble on his services if they were to put him up for sale, hoping that he can become injury-free again and shine.
Le Bris might well see something in Cirkin this pre-season, on the contrary, and pray that he can be a star under his tenure, but the former Tottenham man's spell playing at the Stadium of Light could soon be over, especially if more unfortunate injuries come his way.
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