Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown is set to travel to England for discussions with the club’s board over the potential future of Nigel Pearson with a decision set to be made on his long-term future.
Pearson has not been able to improve results at Ashton Gate as much as he would have been anticipating when he took over from Dean Holden. The Robins have so far managed to secure just two wins and two draws in his opening nine matches in charge of the club following their goalless draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
That result has meant that the Robins are winless in their last five matches in the Championship and are sat in a disappointing 14th place in the table at the moment. It had been reported previously that Pearson would be due to sit down with the club’s hierarchy at the end of the campaign when a decision would be made over his potential long-term future.
However, according to Football Insider, Lansdown is now travelling back to England to have discussions with the club’s board over the current situation. It is thought that a decision could be made during the talks over whether to persist with Pearson or head in a new direction. It has also been reported that his future with the club is now in serious doubt.
The verdict
This is going to be a hugely important next few days for the Robins and they will need to ensure that they get the decision over Pearson spot on if they are to make progress next term. The experienced manager has not been able to transform results on the field as he had done in previous jobs and it has been a bit of a struggle for him so far at Ashton Gate.
Pearson is experienced enough to know that there will be pressure placed on to him when results are not going the way the club want. He will also be aware that his long-term future is now very much up in the air and he would need to improve results in the final few games to have a chance of staying on at Ashton Gate beyond the end of the campaign.
Bristol City have got themselves a manager with promotion experience in Pearson, and they need to weigh up whether they believe with backing he could turn things around. If there are doubts then it would be best to make a decision as soon as possible so they can then turn to other potential targets.