Bristol City midfielder Matty James is no stranger to current manager Nigel Pearson.

The 31-year-old first worked with Pearson during his time at Leicester City, with the pair achieving promotion with the Foxes in 2014, before pulling off a great escape to stay in the Premier League the following season.

Pearson departed the King Power Stadium after that and James' career in the Midlands declined, with injury ruling him out of the entire title-winning season in 2015-16 and only making a handful of appearances thereafter, being loaned out to Barnsley and Coventry City.

James was one of Pearson's first signings at Ashton Gate last summer, along with former Leicester team-mate Andy King and perhaps unsurprisingly he has established himself as a mainstay in the Robins midfield. The trust Pearson has in him is clear as he has also captained the side regularly after goalkeeper Dan Bentley, the usual skipper, was dropped in favour of Max O'Leary.

59-year-old Pearson is now the oldest manager in the Championship and with younger managers like 36-year-old Vincent Kompany at Burnley coming into the division, James admits that his boss has had to adapt from when they first started working together.

"He's a little bit more different now. I think he's had to adapt to the way the game has been going and the way certain players now need more nurturing and a little more - (players) don't get the same upbringing as I had, certainly Manchester United was fantastic for me. It was hard and ruthless and it was intense," James told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I think you have to be careful with how you approach the younger players and I think he's had to do that because we've got a lot here and I think he's done exceptionally well with the young players. The number of young players that have played for the club since he has been here has been a lot so I think in that way he has had to learn and adapt.

"I think with the way the league has gone, tactically now I think the Championship is different to what it was. When I was back with the gaffer at Leicester, there was a lot of 4-4-2 then. There are new systems being played and new managers trying tactically to outdo the other team.

"For us, we've had to play different systems and there are 11 players out on the pitch and you go out there and try and execute so I think the gaffer has been adaptable. We've made some good steps moving forward and hopefully, we'll continue doing that."

The verdict

Pearson has certainly adapted his management style during his time at Bristol City.

While he may come across rather old-school in his approach, he has actually been responsible for the development of a number of young players at the club, such as O'Leary, Alex Scott, Antoine Semenyo and Tommy Conway to name a few.

The effectiveness of Pearson's management is shown by how well some of the youngsters have performed since being introduced into the first team. Scott has been linked with a number of bigger clubs, while Conway is the club's top scorer this season with nine goals.

Pearson's record in terms of results at Ashton Gate leaves a little to be desired and he is currently under pressure with the club close to the relegation zone, but the work he has done in this department will not only benefit the club on the pitch, but will give them significant income if these players are sold for big money.

James certainly has a huge amount of respect for Pearson and perhaps he deserves more credit for surviving in a game where younger, up-and-coming managers are now seemingly the first choice for clubs.