Nigel Pearson video: Leicester manager asks journalist 'are you an ostrich?' during bizarre post-Chelsea defeat rant

Pearson called Ian Baker "stupid" and "daft" after being asked a question regarding criticism of his Leicester players

Nigel Pearson called a journalist "an ostrich" (Getty Images/YouTube)

Nigel Pearson launched an astonishing attack on a journalist following Leicester's 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in which the manager called him "an ostrich".

Ian Baker, of the Wardles press agency, asked Pearson a question regarding criticism of the Leicester players this season, and the 51-year-old took a few seconds to weigh up his answer before launching a rant towards Baker, who he described as “stupid” and had his head in the clouds.

“Have you been on holiday for six months? Have you been away for six months?” responded Pearson.

Watch the video below...

“I think you must have been either head in the clouds or away on holiday or reporting on a different team because if you don’t know the answer to that question your question is absolutely unbelievable the fact you do not understand where I am coming from. If you don’t know the answer to that question then I think you are an ostrich. Your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand? Are you flexible enough to get your head in the sand? My suspicion would be no.”

When Baker answered “probably not”, Pearson continued: “I can, you can’t. You can’t. Listen you have been here often enough and for you to ask that question, you are either being very, very silly or you are being absolutely stupid, one of the two because for you to ask that question, I am sorry son, you are daft.

“You are wrong. No, you are wrong. You have been in here, I know you have so don’t give that crap with me, please don’t give that crap with me. I will smile at you because I can afford to smile at you. Now do you want to ask a different question or do you want to ask it differently. Come on, ask it. Ask it or are you not capable?”

Baker, appearing to be as surprised by Pearson’s response as everyone else in the Leicester press room was, responded by saying “I don’t know how you’ve taken that question,” before Pearson wrapped things up.

“Well you must be very stupid,” he said. “I’m sorry.” Pearson then promptly stormed out of the press conference and told the journalists not to thank him as he left, but it’s not the first time he has become embroiled in controversy.

He told a fan at the King Power Stadium earlier this season to “F*** off and die” while he also called another journalist a “prick” when asked a question.

Pearson was also involved in an altercation with Crystal palace midfielder James McArthur after he grabbed the player by the throat when the two accidentally collided during a match earlier this season.