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Kasper Schmeichel namechecks former Leicester man who ‘transformed’ club towards success

Kasper Schmeichel, Nigel Pearson, Wes Morgan, Leicester City, April 2014.

Kasper Schmeichel has named Nigel Pearson as a crucial figure in turning Leicester City towards success, stating he ‘transformed’ the club.

Leicester’s upwards trajectory in the past few years has been obvious. Their historic Premier League winning season in 2015/16 may have appeared a fluke, but the Foxes have built upon that. Indeed, since that campaign, they have finished in the top half of the Premier League another four times.

Leicester have finished fifth two times in the previous three seasons.

They have established themselves as a genuine high-calibre Premier League team. Foxes captain Schmeichel feels a lot of that success can be attributed to one man.

“The way he [Nigel Pearson] transformed Leicester, we are still reaping the rewards of that,” he said on the Fozcast.

Pearson was in charge of Leicester in the seasons leading up to their Premier League triumph. The manager guided them back to the top flight for the first time in 10 years, in his third season in charge.

Despite not lasting more than a season in the Premier League, Schmeichel feels Pearson steered Leicester in the right direction.

“The infrastructure he put in place, a lot of the people that worked behind the scenes at Leicester are still the same people that Nigel brought in,” Schmeichel added.

“I think it’s really underrated how much he is a part of what Leicester is today.

“I saw him at the statue unveiling of our late owner and it was great to see him. It was kind of seeing an old family that you haven’t seen for a while and you see all of the players saying hello.”

Clearly, Schmeichel still has a lot of respect for his former boss.

Schmeichel applauds Pearson’s management style

Kasper Schmeichel, Nigel Pearson, Leicester City, 2012.

Schmeichel also hailed Pearson for his style of man management.

“He had such an individual rapport with every player. In a team you need different characters, you need your hard men, you need your grafters but you also need your flairs and mavericks,” he said.

“I never understood the ones who treat everyone the same. The ones who have success treat people differently. When a manager understands and respects that you will do anything for them.”

Clearly, Pearson has left a significant mark on Schmeichel as a player, and Leicester overall.

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