At the Leicester City welcome, Nigel Pearson “had tears in his eyes.”
Since his second stint with Leicester ended eight years ago, the Bristol City manager had not been in the dugout at the King Power Stadium.
Nigel Pearson had tears in his eyes on an emotional return to the dugout at the King Power Stadium.
The Bristol City boss was managing a game at Leicester City’s home ground for the first time since the end of his second spell eight years ago. It was a period in which he won the Championship title and guided the club to an improbable escape from Premier League relegation.
In preparation for back surgery, Pearson was hailed by City supporters behind the dugout at the conclusion of the game. The manager waved to those in the directors’ box, including his father and his grandchildren. He then claimed that he performed fine at seeing many familiar faces after wiping his eyes.
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Although, it wasn’t the perfect day for him and returning players Andy King and Matty James, who also received warm receptions. Jamie Vardy’s penalty meant City walked away with the three points, the Robins suffering just their second defeat of the season.
“It means a lot,” he said. “My family are all here, my dad’s here too because he used to love coming here and then going out for a smoke at half-time! So he’s here and he’s 89, I’ve got my grandchildren here today as well.
“It was a big part of our lives and so for us to come back here today, you know what I’m like, I’m miserable once the game starts because it’s all about the football, but I can’t deny I’ve had tears in my eyes today. It’s really good to see people again.
“And it’s very touching to receive the respect I got shown today. It’s the same for the players too. Kingy and Jamo got a fabulous reception and very justified it was too. They both played big parts in this club. A nice story but we still lost.”
City boss Enzo Maresca said it was a pleasure to welcome Pearson back to the club. The Italian said it’s important he is shown respect for his achievements on Filbert Way.
“The only thing I can say is that he brought something unbelievable here in the years he was here,” Maresca said. “For me it was only a pleasure to meet him before the game, to have a chat with him, at the end of the game to tell him all the best, especially for the health, but also for the football. Big respect. When you achieve something important, always you need big respect.”
