Eyebrows were raised when Claudio Ranieri was appointed as Leicester City manager over the summer.
Nigel Pearson had just steered the Foxes to safety despite being bottom of the Premier League table as late in the season as March, having already secured promotion from League One and the Championship during two stints as Leicester boss.
But Pearson lost his job in the summer, and many thought that would lead to the King Power Stadium hosting Championship football once more come 2016.
By now, we know it hasn’t exactly worked out that way as Ranieri has guided the Foxes to top of the table.
Throughout this amazing run, one man has been conspicuously silent – Nigel Pearson. But the 52-year-old has finally broken his silence in an interview with The Times.
“For Leicester to be where they are, even to have got into the Premier League in the first place, it needed a lot of groundwork and building blocks to be put in place,” he said. “Whether that’s easily forgotten now, I don’t know, but good luck to Leicester and good luck to Claudio Ranieri.
“What I would say is that he [Ranieri] was going into a situation where there wasn’t an awful lot wrong. He probably won’t have inherited a job anywhere else and found a structure in place like that.
Despite implying Claudio Ranieri should probably be sending him some sort of massive gift, Pearson denied he was taking credit for this year’s success: “I’m not saying that to big myself up — I don’t actively look for any thanks for what has happened this year — but likewise I’m not going to underplay that.”
Still, Pearson backed his former club to see out the rest of the season and become English champions for the first time, saying: “I think they’ll win the Premier League because they won’t be distracted by the hype… They coped with the pressure exceptionally well last year and they’re doing the same this year.
“It would be a mixture of feelings [if they win the Premier League], let’s be honest. I would be delighted for a lot of people there – players, staff and fans – but I would be dishonest if I said I would be happy for everyone there. Of course I wouldn’t be.”
