Leaning against the wall of the corridor outside the Leicester City press room, Nigel Pearson was around three minutes into a typically rambling and discursive response to a straightforward question when a door banged open and to the ill-concealed relief of the assembled journalists, his opposite number Sam Allardyce jovially demanded his presence to share a swift post-match drink.
Pearson, who has not had much to talk about of late in terms of results, grinned wryly. “Oh come on Sam, I haven’t won for donkeys!”
Allardyce, whose West Ham team had played their full part in a remarkably open game, grinned back, and the two men disappeared for a snifter. The West Ham manager gave every indication he had rather enjoyed the game if not the result and, perhaps as a way of making a point to both the club’s owners and supporters, said he intended to continue to go forward for the rest of the season.
“The big shout at the start of the season was that we had to attack more and we’ve done that in the entire season,” Allardyce said. “We’ve lacked a few more clean sheets than we wanted, which would’ve given us more victories and draws and got us higher up the table.
“But we’ve scored more goals than we ever have, and our aim is to push on for the next seven games and make sure we get more than 46 points, which is our best total, and if we can do that by playing as we are we’ll carry on.”
For different reasons Pearson too, so cautious in the first half of the season when he often played only one up front, now has little choice other than to have a go, and his 4-4-2 formation transformed itself to 4-2-4 at every opportunity.
The result was a wild and entertaining free-for-all that could easily have finished 5-4 to either team. As it was, Esteban Cambiasso’s early volley was cancelled out by Cheikhou Kouyaté’s angled finish in the first half, before the substitute Andy King won the game five minutes from time by prodding home Jamie Vardy’s scuffed effort from close range.
The crowd, which had also seen David Nugent’s penalty saved by Adrián and Kouyaté hit the inside of the post, and any number of near misses, exploded in relief. With eight games to go, the odds are still against Leicester pulling themselves out of trouble but they have West Bromwich, Burnley, Sunderland and, in the final game of the season, Queens Park Rangers still to play. According to Pearson, their fate remains in their own hands.
The frustrating thing, he said, is that Leicester have playing well for quite some time, without getting results. “I would love to be a lucky manager who plays crap and wins but we’ve not been that, and that I think is because the level and the technical ability of sides you play in the Premier League doesn’t allow you to do that too often.
“I’m sure everybody has a viewpoint on who are the best, worst and indifferent sides we have still to play but the reality is it doesn’t pan out like that because every side at this level has a few individuals who are exceptionally good. That’s the biggest challenge.”
The fact five of Leicester’s last eight games are at home could be key according to King, who has spent all eight years of his career to date at City, and whose goal was his 50th for the club.
“We take heart from the way we’ve been playing and the performances we’ve put in, and it’s a result that proves 100% we can survive,” he said. “It proves to everyone – not just ourselves – that we mean business.”
Man of the match Esteban Cambiasso (Leicester City)
