‘GIVE NIGEL THE AND CITY COULD

FORMER Bristol City goalkeeper Chris Weale has backed new manager Nigel Pearson to win hearts and minds at Ashton Gate.

Pearson was appointed on Monday, until the end of the season, to replace Dean Holden, whose eight-month reign was terminated after a run of six straight defeats.

Weale worked under Pearson when Leicester City reached the Championship play-offs in 200910 and says the 57-year-old is the “right man at the right time” for a club with its sights set on topflight football.

“I think it’s a fantastic appointment, I really do,” said Weale, who made his name at Yeovil before spending three years at Ashton Gate under Gary Johnson.

“Bristol City are a big club with big ambitions who haven’t quite hit the heights they’d like. For me, this is a clever appointment that gives them a great chance of finally getting to the Premier League.

Excited

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on the whole situation but, if I was a Bristol City fan, I’d be really excited.”

Pearson is revered at Leicester, where he orchestrated promotion from the Championship in 2014 and constructed the side that famously won the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri.

He has since managed Derby, Watford and Belgian side OH Leuven, earning a reputation as a no-nonsense disciplinarian.

Weale, though, says Pearson is far more canny and sophisticated than his fearsome persona would suggest.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Nigel,” says the 39-year-old, who retired in 2019. “He’s fantastic, probably the best manager I’ve worked for purely in terms of the environment he creates.

“He’s very intelligent, looks at the whole structure of the club, from the academy staff to the first-team squad. But he does it in a very humble and respectful way.

“That creates a positive atmosphere right throughout the club and it makes people want to play for him.

“He’s very supportive, very protective of his players. He