Pearson happy for spotlight to shine on Sven

The former Sheffield Wednesday defender had just completed a second successful season in charge of the Foxes and seemed to have one of the safest jobs in football.

But, from the moment the Tigers were offered encouragement in their quest to find a permanent successor to Phil Brown, he knew the clock was ticking on his time at the Walkers Stadium.

Within a few days, Pearson was duly heading back to his native Yorkshire as Leicester sounded out Swansea City manager Paulo Sousa over a switch from

Wales.

A little over four months on, the 47-year-old Hull manager will return to the Walkers Stadium tomorrow for the first time since his departure but it will not be Sousa in the home dugout but Sven Goran Eriksson.

The Swede becoming Leicester's seventh manager in a little over four years was a hugely unexpected turn of events, even allowing for his nomadic existence since leaving the England job in 2006.

There have been short stints in international football with Mexico and Ivory Coast, while his time in charge of Manchester City lasted just a year.

Throw in his six months as director of football at Notts County and it is clear that putting down roots has not been a priority for Eriksson of late.

Now, however, he insists that is all to change with Eriksson insisting he wants to remain at Leicester well beyond the two-year contract he signed earlier this month.

Whether that proves to be the case remains to be seen, though what is surely not in doubt is how the arrival of one of world football's most familiar faces has turned the visit of Hull into one of the most eagerly-awaited for years in the East Midlands.

One man probably delighted by Eriksson's arrival is Pearson, a manager who neither seeks nor particularly enjoys being in the spotlight.

On any other weekend, his return to Leicester would have been the main focus but, instead, it is merely one of several plotlines. And every one of them includes the home manager.

More than 90 press applications have been received for the visit of Hull, many no doubt turning up hoping to see the Eriksson era get off to a losing start.

Since his England reign started to go awry following the 2002 World Cup exit, the national media have turned the Swede into something of a figure of fun.

His dalliances with Ulrika, Faria et al only served to further fuel the fire of criticism, so much so that some of it bordered on ridicule.

What is often overlooked, however, as a result of his reputation having gone south is just what a good manager he has been.

At Lazio, he won the Serie A title. He also won domestic championships in Portugal and his native Sweden, plus a host of cup competitions. His time at Manchester City was also regarded as a success by Blues fans.

It may have gone wrong under England in the end but reaching the last eight of three successive tournaments – as the Three Lions did in 2002, 2004 and

2006 – now feels like a golden age.

Tomorrow, that reputation will be put on the line once again when, by a strange quirk of fate, Eriksson steps out as a Championship manager for the first time against a team managed by someone who knows more about the Leicester players than he does.

It promises to be a fascinating 90 minutes, both on the field and in the dugout as Pearson looks to get one over both Eriksson and a club who saw him as expendable despite two terrific years.