Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Pearson delighted to return to ’Well with medal
STEPHEN Pearson is happy to be back at Motherwell with an Indian Super League title winners’ medal as he returned for a third spell at Fir Park.
The 34-year-old left for Atletico Kolkata in the summer and helped them win the play-off final against former club Kerala Blasters just before Christmas.
Pearson said: “Obviously, it was a big decision to go out there and it justified coming back with a winners’ medal.
“It’s in the early stages, this will be the fourth year coming up now, but it’s a good competition.
“It’s only over a short period of time so the games come thick and fast, there’s lots of travelling. That’s one of the things I found quite difficult, the travelling, but I couldn’t speak highly enough of the league.
“Everybody out there is superb, they try to be as professional as possible. They have a lot of experience and big names out there and they are trying to build up grassroots levels and start from the bottom.
“There is a lot of money there, especially for the foreign players.
“In India they pay the foreign players well because it’s only a short time that they are out there and they want to get the best players to come in and help the Indian players develop.
“They are passionate about everything they do and they give it their all. It’s certainly an enjoyable experience, there’s no doubt about that or I wouldn’t have gone back.”
Pearson could make his debut in tomorrow’s Ladbrokes Premiership encounter with Hearts but Scott McDonald will be absent after losing the appeal against his red card against Rangers. The Australian will also miss a midweek trip to Aberdeen.