Two managers meet in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a relegation battle today, both having considered their positions during the course of an intense Barclays Premier League season. The fighting spirit of Nigel Pearson and Steve Bruce, though, was stronger than the urge to turn and walk away.
Pearson, the Leicester City manager, claims he would no longer be in charge of the East Midlands side if he was not 100 per cent convinced they could stay in the Premier League. Leicester are seven points clear of safety as they host Hull, his former side, in a game that he has conceded is a “must-win”.
The 51-year-old was sacked, and then reinstated last month, but remains assured as he looks to plot another great escape having kept Carlisle United in the football league in his first managerial position in 1999 and helped to save West Bromwich Albion against relegation from the top flight as Bryan Robson’s assistant in 2005.
“Tides do turn — it’s to do with the moon and gravitational pull, it’s the waxing and the waning,” Pearson said. “I wouldn’t be sitting here if I did not think we would get enough points to stay in the division. I have the belief in my players. I think they have the character and ability as well.
“Looking at the league table it’s not great but given the length of time we’ve been in this position and the players to be as positive still is a very good indicator of the types of people we are dealing with. I’ve been in tight situations before but I have the belief we can get out of it but I can’t compare it to other situations and I try and work through a timescale.
“We need to win. It goes without saying every game is really important, we need to win a game.”
Bruce, Pearson’s counterpart at Hull, has agreed a new three-year contract to stay at the KC Stadium but admitted he toyed with the idea of leaving the club at the end of the season.
Since taking over in 2012, Bruce has guided Hull to unprecedented success, following promotion from the Championship with the club’s first FA Cup Final and a highest Premier League finish of 16th last season. With his stock rarely higher during a 16-year career in management, Bruce said he considered leaving on the expiry of his previous contract.
“There was a bit of me that said, ‘Steve, you’ve had a wonderful three years. Do you keep the club up and say, ‘Thanks very much’?,” Bruce said. “There has to come a time when you say enough is enough. It can’t be healthy for you. You still kick every ball and when you go home as a manager you’re more disappointed than I ever was as a player.
“But then I thought, ‘I haven’t finished yet’. I have put something in place with the Academy, the scouting and the training ground. I want to see it through to fruition. I want to see if I can get it where I think it can be. This will always be a small club in the Premier League but can we do a West Brom? Or a Stoke?
“If I can do that play my part, then I will sail off into the sunset.”
Victory for Hull would put them 12 points above Nigel Pearson’s side and Bruce sees the fixture as an opportunity to take a significant stride towards survival.
“Leicester are under the most pressure but it is a great opportunity for us,” Bruce said. If we can, I honestly believe that Leicester can’t catch us. If that is putting a bit of pressure on us, rightly so. It is a huge game. Over the last few weeks, we have been more like ourselves. Let’s hope we can go and produce a performance that gets a result. If we can get eight or nine points clear with goal difference, that is huge. That needs a big turnaround.”
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