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Pearce hopes upturn will persuade Distin to stay

Simon Stone
Monday 04 December 2006 01:00 GMT
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Stuart Pearce is prepared to let Sylvain Distin leave Manchester City for nothing next summer rather than cash in on his key defender next month.

Distin's contract is due to expire at the end of the season and, despite repeated pleas from Pearce, he has so far failed to sign a lucrative extension. But having turned down a move to Middlesbrough in August, the stylish French defender followed up his stunning midweek goal at Aston Villa by dropping the broadest hint yet that he could be prepared to follow the likes of Joey Barton, Richard Dunne and Micah Richards by committing his long-term future to the club.

Given the uncertainty, Pearce could be forgiven for demanding an answer one way or another to give cash-strapped City a chance to get some kind of fee when the transfer window opens next month.

However, the City manager has no intention of pressing him into a decision and hopes the club perform well enough during the rest of the season to convince the 29-year-old to stay.

"I have been speaking to Sylvain for the last 18 months and if it takes me until the last day of his contract to persuade him to stay that is fine," Pearce said.

"When he told us he didn't want to go to Middlesbrough I instantly looked upon that as giving me extra time to convince him. Not for one moment have I thought about trying to move him on next month. I would rather keep him here and, if the worst-case scenario arrives and he leaves for nothing, that is just the way it goes.

"I know Sylvain likes playing for us and I know his family is happy in the area. But the thing that will persuade him to sign a new contract is not words from me, it is the performances of the team he is part of.

"I honestly believe he will stay but we have to get enough positive results to make sure it happens."

Distin is a certainty to face Watford as City look to record back-to-back Premiership victories for the first time in 14 months and, amazingly, move to within three points of third place.

Pearce is expected to keep an unchanged side, although his options off the bench are strengthened by the availability of Ousmane Dabo and DaMarcus Beasley, who have both recovered from recent injuries.

Watford hope to welcome back their forwards Hameur Bouazza and Ashley Young, who missed the Sheffield United game with an ankle injury and a flu bug respectively.

But Aidy Boothroyd is still without a number of key players. Goalkeeper Ben Foster is out for a further month with a knee injury, the striker Marlon King is to miss the remainder of the campaign with a torn cartilage, the defender Clarke Carlisle (thigh) is another long-term casualty and full-back Chris Powell is suspended following his red card against Sheffield United.

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