CONFIRMED - City Appoint Pearson on Three-Year Deal

City appoint Pearson on three-year deal
https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/city-appoint-pearson-on-three-year-deal/

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City appoint Pearson on three-year deal
Thursday, April 29th 2021

City today (April 29th) appointed Nigel Pearson as manager on a three-year contract.

Pearson, who has been in temporary charge since the end of February, has signed until the end of the 2023/24 season.

Pearson said: “I’m delighted to become the permanent manager of Bristol City. This is such a fantastic opportunity at a sound football club that has so much more potential.

“The Lansdowns have a long-term vision, not just for Bristol City but for sport in the area, and I’m very grateful for the chance to be at the forefront of that.

“I want to be part of a team that gets to the Premier League. It’s going to be a tough journey and we’ll need the right people on board to achieve it but I am excited about the possibilities ahead.”

Pearson has a wealth of experience with more than 500 games as a manager, including two spells with Leicester City – leading them to the 2013/14 Championship title – as well as Watford in the Premier League.

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City Chairman Jon Lansdown said: “It’s important that we have that certainty in terms of the manager and appointing Nigel is a great chance for us to take a real step forward. He brings leadership but in an inclusive way which can galvanise others.

"We have a shared vision and everything is in place facility-wise to start pushing forward. Now it’s about having the right people, with the right leadership, doing the right things and there is nothing standing in the way.”

 

Brilliant, best news in years, looking forward to all the news for development, fantastic times ahead.

 

Jon Lansdown on speaking to other candidates previously
I'm not going to name any names. We did speak to at least one other person when we initially appointed Nigel. We had some conversations but since Nigel has been here there's been no other indication or anything that we'd want to go in any other direction just out of respect to what we discussed before. It's straightforward. It's unusual to get to know someone a but first before you get to appoint them. As you've heard, it's a good fit for us. With the shared vision and everything else we've got a really good foundation for the club.
JL on any update on possible investment into the club
There's nothing advanced on that front. Some of the bit behind that really is something you should always be thinking of, we've managed to take the sport in the city from one level to the next. You've got to always be open-minded on there's the right partner out there to take it to the next level. And of course you'd be open to that. We're in a situation where we have the High Performance Centre, we have Ashton Gate, we have a lot of the foundations to take the next steps if the opportunity comes along where there really is someone that has the shared vision that you do, that wants to take it to the next level then why wouldn't you want to listen? There's nothing imminent.
JL on CEO Mark Ashton's departure and whether he should be on gardening leave
I heard shortly before it was announced. Obviously we've known Mark a long time and this second time he's been here over five years. We've got a good relationship in that sense. You want to place someone on gardening leave if you don't have that trust there. There's no problem in that respect. We will need to transition from one person to the next as well. There's no real need to do that. You say Ipswich are a rival EFL club but they're not a direct rival in that sense so there's no issue.
JL on replacing Ashton
Titles aren't important. It's the role you fill. Nigel will have different skillsets that we might not have had before. You look to fill the gaps and the best way to do that. We operate in a way where we have a recruitment model and I don't think it's a safe place anywhere where you have one person who dictates everything. But at the same time you're never going to sign someone that the manager doesn't want because what's the point. It goes back to the collective responsibility. We will look to replace with something that best fits with what we've got. And that goes back to, you can have the facility and everything but it's the people within it that makes it high-performing. That's the bit that collectively we've got to get working together.
JL on the injuries this season and whether there's been an independent review
We see the same thing as you. We've had far more injuries than we'd have liked. You look into that and then you try and put everything in place to make sure you put everything in place to make sure you're in a better position next year. There's no point having a well constructed squad if you can't use it. That's in all of our interests to make sure we can be as fit and healthy as possible.
JL on Andy Rolls leaving the club and if it's connected to the injury situation
Andy's gone to... He has another opportunity as well but I think it's something probably good for both parties in that sense. A fresh start and a look at that [the injury situation] is probably a good thing.
JL on the 13 players out of contract in the summer
We don't have to do anything in that respect [after it's suggested that the club might have to let them all depart]. Obviously we look at our budget and how we want to construct the squad and we will start those conversations from anyone from that group that we want to keep and then obviously for any new players that we want to bring in as well. The point is that we do have the flexibility to make those decisions. I'm not going to comment on individuals [whan asked if Famara Diedhiou will be staying].
JL on being overseas but still being club Chairman
I wasn't part of the bubble here when Nigel was appointed while I was away so it doesn't affect my day to day. In terms of my role I'm chair to the board of the football club. Day to day-wise Mark Ashton is on the ground working that side of it, the reality is it's not the normal time is it? The only difference for me is that I couldn't attend the games at Ashton Gate like everyone else. I had to watch the games on the screen like everyone else. I wasn't part of the bubble to be able to see any of the players or be at the High Performance Centre so it didn't really affect any of my duties.

 

NP reaction to new deal
I'm very happy. From the outset it was something that I was very keen to do. I totally understood the club's situation. It's never easy to make appointments just on a Zoom call, to be honest. It helps the overall situation as there's been a level of uncertainty and at least now we can really plan with more clarity. But we've been trying to do that anyway. But I understand how that's perceived externally.
NP on if he has the squad and infrastructure for promotion
This year's been disappointing of course, but we have a sound foundation but we have a number of very good players. Unfortunately too many who are not available. And that's made evaluating where we are a bit more difficult. But certainly we have the foundations. I think the club's stability as a business and in terms of the infrastructure is very good. We're geared for success. What we have to do now is find the right formula to develop the playing squad into a more efficient outfit.
NP on if he'll have the resources to compete
I don't ask for assurances. I have a clear idea in my mind in how we get from A to B, but that doesn't mean buying our way out of trouble. We've got the basis of an already decent squad. We need to make them more robust so we have availability that allows us to compete for longer periods of time in the season. When you're trying to develop a squad it's about making the right additions when they become available. I have no doubts that we have the capability because we've spoken about it, to add to the squad. But if people think we're going to just expect it to be a spending spree where you're just trying to buy your way out of the league it's not really.. well, club's have done it and been successful doing it but I don't necessarily think it's the best way to do it. In the current climate in terms of where football is, during the pandemic is, that we've all been experiencing over the last 14-15 months, the economic climate is forever changing. We need to be very mindful that we develop the squad by adding to it, but also by developing the players we already have here.
NP on the challenge ahead
The pressure's on me to deliver it but I don't mind that. I think it really is an interesting challenge. I think it's something where if we get it right then I don't know what the ceiling is for what we can achieve. We're geared for success where we're clearly underachieving on the pitch at the moment. The most important thing now is that there is some clarity, and I think that's important for our fanbase as well, that they see our commitment to try to achieve success and I'm really delighted.
Jon Lansdown on possible investment to back up Nigel's plans
As a football club we've always looked to support our managers. We've got a number of high players who have not been available through injury. We've got a number of youngsters who have developed this year as well. For us it's about the overall balance of the squad and the construction of it. We're not going to change the way we act and the way we do things, but if there are opprtunites then we will always look to support him. It's not something that we believe you can do purely solve by throwing money at it. We don't think that's the right way to go. But we will always look to improve and if we can recruit the right players then we are in a situation this season where we do have some flexibility within our squad in terms where we have some players out of contract which means that we have some choices.

 

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/press-conference-nigel-pearson-and-jon-lansdown/