Bristol City chief executive Jon Lansdown has admitted that Nigel Pearson ‘would have wanted to be doing better’ as the former Leicester City head coach was dismissed this past week.
On Sunday, Pearson became the sixth manager in the Championship to bite the bullet after his departure from Ashton Gate was confirmed, following a 2-0 defeat away to Cardiff City the day prior.
The loss against the Bluebirds left the Robins 15th in the second tier, and with Pearson’s contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign, the board decided to pull the plug on his time in charge.
“Recent results” were cited by City chairman Lansdown but it seemed as though tensions had been building for a while, with Pearson previously admitting to BBC Radio Bristol that the lack of security in his position ‘irritated’ him.
Lansdown backed his comments in a recent interview with BBC Radio Bristol, and even revealed that the Robins have a ‘top-ten budget’ in the Championship [quotes via Football League World]:
“You hear about having to cut back and things like that, there were some contracts coming out, but we’re still a top 10 budget in the division.
“We’ve got the facility and we’ve got stability.
“We do give our managers opportunity.
“We’ve got the ability to out-perform our budget.
“So, we’re in that crunch phase of that contract where we need to be looking at the top bit,” he continued.
“Now we can talk about other things and injuries and things to talk about separately, but the reality is as we look to and we’re not doing as well as we’d hoped or want to do.
“So, you’ve got a manager coming out of contract.
“You’re not performing to where you want to, and I think he would want to be doing better as well, and that’s what the decision is based on.”
Writer’s View
The loss of Alex Scott during the summer transfer window was only going to be to the detriment of results on the pitch. However, Bristol City still shouldn’t be getting dragged down into a relegation fight.
It will be interesting to see who comes in to replace Pearson and if they can potentially guide the Robins towards the playoff places, with plenty of football left to be played.
