Nigel Pearson claiming credit for Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester success

The cheek of some people.

It can’t be easy for Nigel Pearson to see a team that he saved from relegation last year, now top the table in the Premier League. The former Foxes’ boss pulled off a stunning miracle to get the club from the bottom three to safety in a matter of months, after their situation this time 12 months ago looked terminal. Pearson could have expected to be given some time to work with his squad but instead was sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri last summer after he fell out with the owners over the sacking of his son. The Italian has worked the oracle this term and, thanks to the sensational form of the likes of Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, are in pole position to claim the league title. Pearson is happy for his former charges, but feels that the ex-Chelsea manager can’t take all the credit for the change in the club’s fortunes. Instead, Pearson feels his own role on creating a stable base for the Italian has been forgotten.

“Leicester are where they are because they’ve had a fantastic season and because their manager has managed skilfully and sensibly, but also because they previously had someone in charge who was able to front it up and make tough decisions when they needed to be made." “I know how pivotal the work I did was for them to be in the situation they’re in now.”

This chimes with the credit former Chelsea boss Ranieri gave Pearson at the start of the season, but to some may sound a bit desperate - it's unlikely he would be taking any of the blame if the club did poorly again this season. Pearson also thinks that while it would be nice for Leicester to win, he would not be happy for everyone at his former club if they did claim Premier League winners medals.

“They won’t be interested in what anyone else says. Good luck to them. I think they’ll do it. I would be dishonest [though] if I said I would be happy for everyone there."