Pearson Admires Competitive West Brom Style

Having spent two years at the Baggies in the early stages of his managerial career, the City boss spoke highly of their current manager Alan Irvine and the style in which the Scotsman’s team move the ball around the pitch.
The Hawthorns outfit sit one point and four positions above the Foxes after nine league games while both City and West Brom look for their third win of the 2014/15 campaign.
“West Brom are a very good passing side and are a settled team which is helpful for them,” said Pearson. “I know Alan very well from his early days coaching as well as mine.
“He is someone I have a lot of respect for and I’m very pleased he is managing in the Premier League. He fits West Brom very well.
“They have changed their profile in terms of who they have in charge of the first team since I was there. They have changed their managerial model but it works for them. They have had a number of years in the top flight and have gained stability and that in itself is not an easy thing to do.
“My time there was during the period they spent a couple of years in the Premier League and relegation – managing the Club through those circumstances is never easy.
“I don’t just mean the person in charge of the team, I mean managing the finances and being competitive in both leagues and planning ahead is never easy but they have reaped the rewards.”
Leicester will look for their first win against West Brom since a hat-trick from Steve Howard earned all three points in a convincing 4-1 Championship win in March 2008.
Crediting this weekend’s opposition for establishing themselves in England’s top flight since gaining promotion in 2010, Pearson said: “They’ve proved that they can be a very competitive football club who are soundly run. They’re a really good passing side that have a system we have to be aware of.
“For us as well, we’ve got players who can cause them problems. Whenever you go into any game it’s about nullifying as much as you can your opponent’s strengths and trying to exploit their weaknesses.
“Every game that you play, those are the aims, to try and maximise what you can do yourselves. Both sides will feel there are opportunities and that makes it an interesting fixture.”