Pearson: Give Me Your Best

Outside perceptions of the Foxes have changed recently on the back of two victories over West Ham and West Brom, but Pearson emphasised the understanding within the squad of the amount of work yet left for them if they are to achieve survival. 

The current situation sees them three points adrift of safety with seven games left – a big shift from the seven-point gap they faced going into the West Ham clash. 

“When they’re in a position of strength like they are, they’ll be playing for the best finish that they can,” said Pearson on Garry Monk’s Swansea. 

“We’re fighting for our Premier League status. Those two ends of the spectrum can bring or take away certain types of pressure. 

“We’re going to have to set our stall out expecting them to be at their best, which means we’ll have to be at our best. The fixture requires that amount of commitment. We’ve got to continue dealing with the situation that we’re in, which is never an easy thing to do.” 

It was a familiar point, but certainly a relevant one when Pearson again pointed to City’s need to focus not on the goings on elsewhere in the relegation battle, but on their own performances. 

That may well be made easier on Saturday due to the fact both Hull and Queens Park Rangers don’t have fixtures. 

That presents City with a scenario in which they can climb off the bottom and above QPR with a point, and potentially out of the drop zone with a win by three or more goals if Burnley fail to beat Everton. 

“We have to make the most of our situation,” said Pearson. “That is that we’ve got seven games left and five at home. One of those is against Chelsea, and I’m sure the players will look forward to that when it comes around. 

“But regardless of who we play, they are all really tough fixtures. We’ve got Swansea here, Southampton here, Newcastle here and QPR too. They’re not going to be easy games. It’s not going to be as straightforward as people saying on paper that it’s a decent run-in. 

“Everybody has something to play for, but so have we. I would like to think that people look at us as a team they know will be trying to get the best out of ourselves every time that we play.”