The Man, the Myth, the Manager.

The man, the myth, the manager : Ex-colleagues on what makes Bristol City's Nigel Pearson tick
The secrets of the new Robins boss's man-management examined as Ashton Gate becomes the 57-year-old's new office.

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Nigel Pearson on the touchline as Bristol City manage

This weekend against QPR, Nigel Pearson takes charge of his 500th game of football as a manager.

A career taking in Carlisle United, West Bromwich Albion (caretaker), England U21s (caretaker), Newcastle United (twice as caretaker), Southampton, Leicester City (twice), Hull City, Derby County, OH Leuven, Watford and now Bristol City continues apace.

And in a profession dominated by short-termism, that milestone carries some real weight.

Early performances and results show the instant impact that the former Championship manager of the year has already had on the West Country club that he joined just a week ago: two wins on the road and a good display - unrewarded - against promotion-chasing Bournemouth.

City already look markedly different from earlier in the season when they went three-and-a-half hours without a corner and had six shots on target across five games. Wanting to know how Pearson works in detail, we went looking for references.

Chris Powell knows all too well what City's new manager offers the Robins, having worked with Pearson extensively at Leicester City - joining up as a player coach there in 2009 - and then also at Derby County as part of the newly installed coaching team in May 2016. He is now head of coaching at Tottenham Hotspur.

Jason Euell worked with Pearson at Southampton in 2008. The Charlton Athletic Under-23s and England U20s coach knows how Pearson will look to bind the dressing room together.

While Bruno Berner - now coach of Swiss second tier side SC Kriens - played under Pearson at Leicester City as the Foxes finished in the play-off spots in the English second tier.

Bristol Live spoke to all three to lift the bonnet and gain an insight into Pearson's working methods.

'He'll bring people along' - Chris Powell

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Nigel Pearson, while manager at Derby County with assistant manager Chris Powell

On how Pearson looks to bring a team together...
I think the preconceptions are totally wrong. I've been fortunate enough to work with Nigel in three different capacities, initially as a player in our successful League One to Championship spell at Leicester. And he was brilliant for me as a player: he was very clever and astute how he used the group, how he used the staff.

He builds a synergy. I even saw bits of it against Swansea where he just brings people on board. I think as a manager it's important that you bring people along the journey.
And he'll do that in a short space of time, but I think that will be extended. But he'll bring people along.
He's done that at virtually every club he's been at. He didn't get the time when I worked alongside him at Derby, which was very unfortunate because actually his leadership qualities were definitely what were needed at Derby at the time.

When I became a coach, I had a real education in how a manager works and how he works with his staff, how he utilises people in key areas using their expertise, but driving it from his own perspective.

He's a very intelligent well-read man. And that's one thing that people don't really know. He's really interested in history, in nature, in walks... He's a very, very bright man.

People just see the football side of this sergeant-major centre-half from his Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough days. Those qualities have helped him but he's someone who for me is a very, very astute signing for Bristol City.

On his man-management specifically and how it works...
I would talk about myself, because I could talk about players over a whole season. When I initially went up to train after I left Charlton as a player, for a third time as a player when I think I was was 38, I spoke to him on the phone and he said 'just come up and see what we're like and train for the week'.

And when I got there he pulled me into his office and normally when you go on trial you say hello and there's your kit, get on with it. But Nigel said to me, 'See what we're like but I've got a specific role in mind for you'.

So I've trained and on the Tuesday, and I was meant to be training for the week or two weeks, I think it was a little bit of a test from them with me, but I think it was more him, to see what my mentality was like.

They put on a really hard session, a really hard day. I got through it and I think it was just for me. And before I left that day he said 'we're going to sign you, for six months'.

What he was doing was basically testing me and testing my mentality - and he kept the hunger by only signing me to the December. But by the October or November, he said we're actually going to do it until the end of the season. So what he was doing was putting in a little test for me to see if I would take it. To see if I would really push myself at the latter stages of my career.

But he was also making me a role model for the younger players. Quite cleverly, he'll always have a senior player, and I don't know if there is one at Bristol City, but he will, if there's a senior player who leads by example, and he wants to drag a few along and let younger players know what professionals are like he can do it without actually saying anything.

Because he can just leave it to the senior player to lead the group.

And he does that brilliantly. Because you're then managing a group of players but within that group, players are leading others. So he's making you a leader within the group. It's very clever because it takes away a lot of work for the staff as the group takes care of itself in the main.

Then as a manager you're just plotting and devising ways to beat your next opposition. And I think he will have an impact on that group in the mentality side of things and leadership-wise.

He knows the football and he's got two good coaches there (Paul Simpson and Keith Downing), who will love the way Nigel works and I think it's a very good appointment from Bristol City. I'll be amazed if it's not made long-term, because he has the qualities you need from a manager at that level.

'He's got a very funny side' - Jason Euell
I think it's getting to understand who you are as a person and as a player. I wouldn't say he is in a similar position to what he was when he came in at Southampton with us or at Watford last year but it's getting to know the player and the person in terms of knowing to get the job done and how that works with that person.

When you talk of man management, that's what it is. Yes, he's coming in to stabilise and stop the rot, but you can only do that if you've got the players and the people that will buy into it and take it on board to get the job done. He goes around and gets to know who you are and what you're about.

He's probably done all of his due diligence as well regarding each player, which ones to get around the group, to identify players if they're senior or the younger ones, to try and get the best out of that players in a short space of time.

On building confidence and belief...
It's just the positions he's been in with this club and Watford where players are in a best place, results aren't going well, some players weren't playing under the previous manager. It's all about getting that confidence and belief out of the player because we all know when a new manager comes in, it's like a clean slate for everyone. It sounds very cliche but it is a clean slate for everyone.

He's the guy who's saying to everyone "what's gone is gone, it's a fresh start, let's just do it." He's already giving that confidence by just making everyone a part of it.

There was no segregation of 'okay, you're over there or not playing', it's just everyone together because he needs to see and know. So he just gives that confidence and belief by just making everyone integrated.

When he came, he has that look of a sergeant major type look, which he is. But it's about getting his message across, making it simple and getting the best out of players.

But he's also got a very funny side of him and the humour. What people see sometimes is Nige, very straight, upright, but he's got a very, very funny side too and he knows how to bring that across when he needs to lower that tone or lower the seriousness of everything because we all know is we all need to have that little bit of down time. But when it's work time, he gets that balance bang on.

'A true character with clear principles' - Bruno Berner
In terms of man management and leadership skills, he has been the best manager in my career. He simply knows how to build relationships, how to build bridges.
He brings in stability in any kind of situation and he’s a very, very grounded man with clear principles. He’s a true character so I really enjoyed being a player under him.

On taking anything from Pearson into coaching now [at Swiss second division side SC Kriens]...

Absolutely. Those points I just mentioned, it’s important in certain times especially as we’re going through now everywhere in the world, that stability is key.

I think when he takes over a club like Bristol City, it’s all about stability and you have to lay out a new foundation, a new ground and start building. This is what he is great at doing, he has the capability. On top of that, success will certainly come.

On the skills needed to succeed...
Before he went to management with adults, he was coaching the youth national team of England and there you could see how he managed the young players. But it’s as I said at the beginning, his man management skill covers everything that a modern manager has to do nowadays.

Being a manager nowadays is so complex, so many tasks you have as a manager or a coach to fulfil and he can do that. I played under managers and coaches that just saw the player and Nigel always sees the human being behind it. That is, for me, vital also in my career as a young coach now.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport...ws/bristol-city-manager-nigel-pearson-5073553

 

Rock solid character, I have totally misread this guy, I made up my mind on what I have been told in the media, great approach and the opposite to what we have had, I am still awaiting the outcome of Mark Ashton, I can't believe NP will be a follower of that egotistical character.

Get him signed up on a long term deal SL before he is prised away, we need him.