After guiding Leicester City to Barclays Premier League survival manager Nigel Pearson pointed to the strength of his squad as key to completing one of the most remarkable escapes ever.
Seven points from safety at the start of April, the Foxes won seven of their last nine fixtures to finish 14th in the table and give the Blue Army yet another summer of celebrations. Even when those outside the Club had understandably cast doubt on City’s chances of survival, the rhetoric from within the squad was one of belief and determination – something that eventually drove the turnaround in fortunes.
And while there were certainly more than a few star performers in some of the key games towards the end of the campaign, the manager was keen to acknowledge the contribution of every player towards the group’s success.
“The tendency is always to talk about the key players and there are going to be key players in a squad but I don’t want to spend too much time dwelling on that,” Pearson told Foxes Player.
“We’ve had some really important contributions but the strength of the squad as a group is quite phenomenal actually.
“It’s very hard to quantify what that does in terms of being able to keep that belief even when the situation is dire, as it was at some points.
“The players take great credit, as do the staff for maintaining the belief and the determination to see things through. It’s a good end to the season.”