Simpson backs Pearson to repeat Foxes success
DANNY Simpson has reiterated his desire to stay at Bristol City beyond this weekend as he can envisage boss Nigel Pearson building a similar project to the one he was part of at Leicester City.
Simpson signed on a short-term contract in March, reuniting the 2016 Premier League title-winner with his former Foxes manager, and the 34-year-old has played three games for the Robins since.
The defender is one of 13 firstteam players at City who are out of contract in June, with Saturday’s match against Brentford the last of the 2020/21 campaign, but Simpson wants to stay at Ashton Gate.
Last month, Simpson cited his City debut as the greatest individual achievement of his career following the injury problems he experienced through the second half of 2020, which left him without a club and considering retirement.
However, with Pearson now in place on a three-year deal, Simpson claims he sees echoes of what happened at Leicester in the last decade as the manager created a winning culture, leading the Foxes back into the Premier League.
“I’ve made it very clear that it’s something that I want to do,” said Simpson. “The new facilities, the manager... I know what he can do for this club and the players.
“I’ve seen him and been a part of something that he built. Sometimes you don’t want to talk about the past, but I’ve seen him build a culture and a good environment and sets high standards and a family environment. And I can see that that’s what he can do here.
“I know it’s been a difficult last couple of months, but especially with a full pre-season and everything is set in stone to have a real push and build something special here. I’d love to be a part of that.”
Simpson admits he is yet to hold talks with Pearson or the club over his long-term future, but the rightback has remained involved in firstteam affairs despite his injury, travelling with the squad for recent away matches against Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall.
Simpson has declared himself fit for tomorrow’s encounter against Brentford at Ashton Gate, where he will be battling Jack Hunt for the right-back slot with both players free agents in June, while on-loan Steven Sessegnon will return to Fulham meaning City could potentially have no right-sided defenders under contract come the summer. Pearson claimed earlier this week that he has still to make a final call on the composition of his retained list and who will be part of his new vision.