Nigel Pearson: 'Might I have done things differently? I might have, I might not actually'

Leicester City face Burnley this weekend in a Premier League clash which could take either side out of the bottom three

(Getty)

Bottom of the Premier League at Christmas with only ten points from 17 matches, Leicester City’s recent renaissance, many thought, had to arrive sooner than April.

With just nine more points over the three months which followed, before the visit of West Ham three weeks ago, the Foxes were stacking up a collection of unenviable records.

The 13 match winless stretch (only two of which were draws) coincided with the longest baron run without a goal (five-and-a-half games) suffered by any side in the top flight.

But 51-year-old manager Nigel Pearson, who has endured his fair share of personal adversity this year, isn’t a man who allows negativity to get a stranglehold of his professional life.

Leicester grabbed their third win in a row last week (Getty)

“We’ve talked about this a lot this season, especially when you’ve gone from being a side who is winning every week to a side who is scratching around for results, I think that is a huge shift in how you acclimatise.

“Three weeks ago, it was looking increasingly more difficult. To be fair the players have been able to find the right way to win games.”

It’s a neat, media-friendly, summary from perhaps the Premier League’s most astute and phlegmatic of managers, but Pearson is acutely aware of the situation which had threatened to engulf his debut season as a top flight boss.

A statistic which best highlights their sudden revival is the fact that ten of their 34 league goals this season have come in their last four matches.

Nigel Pearson and Sean Dyche surprised many last season (Getty)

Bottom of the table since November, before last weekend’s 2-0 success over Swansea, the Foxes could climb to the lofty heights of sixteenth with victory over Burnley on Saturday, three points clear of danger.

Given how a sour cocktail of questionable refereeing decisions and old fashioned bad luck were conspiring against him, is he surprised by how quickly Leicester have turned things around?

“I don’t know, is the honest answer. It doesn’t matter if I’m surprised or not. The situation we’re in, without being too blunt about it, is not about bemoaning bad luck or unfortunate decisions.

“Whatever we feel about it, or I feel about it as an individual, is not a priority. The priority for us is about making sure we perform and get the job done.

“There is no room for a reflective process at the moment, you learn as you go along but then you have to move on. The real reflection has to be at the end of the season.”

Nigel Pearson led the Foxes to a comfortable promotion (Getty)

Leicester returned to the top flight in stunning fashion, exercising the ghost of that infamous play-off defeat at Watford, by lifting the Championship title with 102 points to their name.

Joining them were the second tier’s unlikely lads, Sean Dyche’s Burnley, and the two clubs have enjoyed a healthy rivalry in recent times.

“They are a team I have a lot of respect for,” Pearson adds. “They have a manager I have a lot of respect for too.

“It’s important we go into it doing everything we can to try and win the game and that’s the bottom line. I’m not really up for talking about anything else.

Burnley striker Danny Ings has struggled for goals lately (Getty Images)

“I’m the manager; the players have got their role to play; the staff have got their role to play; and the fans have had a huge impact for us at home and away.

“It’s important that we keep our focus on what our objectives are.”

Does he believe both teams can stay up? “I do, whether or not that is mathematically possible I don’t know. If you’re talking about whether it’s a realistic outcome, I think both sides are capable.”

The former Hull City boss, still a relatively youthful figure in a division populated by the likes of Arsène Wenger, Manuel Pellegrini and Dick Advocaat, doesn’t have time for media hype.

The Leicester City manager tangles with the Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur (Getty Images)

But Pearson has aroused intense media interest during a campaign which has seen him swear at supporters and journalists alike, grapple with Crystal Palace’s James McArthur and take aim at the club’s vice-president Gary Lineker.

Following the incident with McArthur, whom the Foxes tried to sign last summer, the Leicester hierarchy ‘sacked’ Pearson before electing to reinstate him just hours later.

In effect, the gregarious Nottingham-born boss was asked to clean up the mess left behind by his own execution.

“What happens, happens,” he replies, calmly. “I’ve been asked if I might have dealt with things differently. Well I might have, I might not actually.

“I don’t know. The bottom line is that I have to keep my focus on the present and we’ve got a very big game coming up against Burnley.”

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson (Getty Images)

Following this weekend’s battle at Turf Moor, the Foxes face champions-elect Chelsea before home encounters with Newcastle United and Southampton.

Many in this burgeoning corner of the East Midlands are hoping that survival will have been achieved before the potentially nerve-shredding final two matches against Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers.

Asked if the scrutiny he has been subjected to will make keeping Leicester up any sweeter, Pearson was typically mischievous: “You don’t think I’m going to fall for that one do you?”