Fryatt full of praise for Pearson as City link continues

NIGEL PEARSON may not like it but the speculation surrounding who will be Sven Goran Eriksson’s successor at Leicester City will continue to rage until an appointment is made.

All manner of names have been banded about, from Martin O’Neill through to Roy Keane and Billy Davies but, as yet, the identity of who will be the Foxes next manager remains as unclear now as it did when the Swede was sacked last month.

The picture is expected to clear after the weekend, the international break affording the Leicester board sufficient time to make an appointment.

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As the last manager to bring success to what used to be called the Walkers Stadium, Nigel Pearson is one of the names that has been strongly linked.

The Hull City manager has found the links hugely irritating, as was made clear on the club’s press day this week when the subject turned to the bookmakers having slashed the odds on his possible return following Lee Clark’s decision to stay at Huddersfield Town.

Such a response was understandable, not least because the Tigers manager did not want his side’s preparations for today’s home game against West Ham United to be disrupted by any tittle-tattle concerning Leicester.

To Matty Fryatt, who has played under the Tigers manager at both the KC Stadium and Leicester, the news Pearson could be being considered for what has to be one of the Football League’s most enticing jobs is not a surprise.

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“The manager is great and his CV is really impressive,” said the 25-year-old, who joined the Tigers from Leicester in a £1.2m deal last January.

“He was definitely one of the reasons for me coming to Hull. Having worked with him at Leicester and had success together, I thought he would do well at Hull.

“He is doing a great job. He hasn’t changed since I first worked with him. That is the great thing about the manager, he knew from day one at Leicester what sort of team he wanted to build.

“I am sure he came to Hull feeling the same and, fair play to him, the club now has the type of team he likes.”

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Pearson’s managerial CV includes leading Leicester to the League One title in 2009 and then reaching the Championship play-offs 12 months later. Fryatt was a key part of those two seasons, netting 38 goals in 75 appearances, so appreciates more than most what makes Pearson tick as a manager.

He said: “The players like working with him and we all know what is expected of us. As players, we are together and honest – which is something that comes from the manager.

“He sets his stall out in terms of what he expects from his team. He wants us to be difficult to beat. I am sure the fans want us to score a few more goals, as do the forwards. But as a team we are solid and any team who wants to be successful has to be solid.

“In many ways, the team here is similar to Leicester in that he has moulded it in his own image.”

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On the touchline, Pearson can be an animated figure – and particularly when things are not going right for his team, as was the case during Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to Barnsley.

Asked if he had been the victim of many dressings down from the City manager over the past three years or so, Fryatt’s smile suggests he has. Not that the City striker intends revealing too many dressing room secrets.

“To be fair, he has always been good with me,” said the one-time England Youth international. “But if he thinks you are not doing something right, whether in a game or training, he will pull you aside and make his point. Generally, though, he lets his players be themselves.”

The midweek defeat at Barnsley may have brought to an end City’s nine-game unbeaten run but the club still go into today’s clash with West Ham in the play-off places.

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It is a far cry from the 16th place the Tigers occupied when Fryatt scored on his debut in a 3-1 win at Portsmouth on January 3 this year.

Fryatt said: “The team has grown since I arrived and we have come a long way, not just in terms of league position either. There have been a lot of changes in terms of players coming in and the manager has now got a player base he is happy with.

“I am sure he would like to add in the January transfer window but he has the base and everyone knows what their job is. That makes us difficult to play against.

“The club was on the up when I came in. We went on a good run but the play-offs were just out of reach. We had too much to do, and the season sort of fizzled out after the Middlesbrough defeat.

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“But I think it would have been too much to go up via the play-offs. This season has gone well. I know it is still quite early but we have to be pleased with our position.”

Today’s visit of Sam Allardyce’s Hammers seems certain to attract City’s highest crowd of the season with club officials expecting a crowd of around 23,000.

With West Ham sitting second, it is also likely to be the biggest test of Hull’s burgeoning promotion hopes.

Fryatt said: “West Ham were always going to do well. There was a lot of hype at Leicester but the manager West Ham have and the players they have meant it would have been a major surprise if they hadn’t been challenging for promotion.

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“It is a big game and the great thing for us is we have picked up our home results. We were disappointed to lose against Barnsley on Tuesday but this is a great chance for us to bounce back.

“The Barnsley match was a strange one in that there were a lot of chances created. It was a big disappointment to lose, considering the chances we had.

“If I had scored the penalty at 0-0, it could have been very different. I thought I took the penalty quite well. I hit it and he saved it. I could have gone a bit higher into the top corner. I have taken worse penalties and scored.

“I haven’t played in too many games like that, either at Leicester or since coming here. Though I did have games like that every week at Walsall, where we had some crazy scores – winning 5-3 one week and then losing 4-2 the next. As a striker, I loved those games. They were great fun.

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“We might not have had too many games like that at Hull but I am really enjoying my football. The team has been doing well but what we need to do now is go on a run again to make sure we remain in the play-off places.”