Nigel Pearson oversaw Leicester’s great escape in the Premier League.
Pearson has penned a personal letter in tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Leicester City and OH Leuven chairman who died in a helicopter crash on Saturday evening.
Pearson worked closely with Srivaddhanaprabha during his time at Leicester, taking the team up to the Premier League and keeping them in the division against all odds in the 2014/15 season.
In 2017, Srivaddhanaprabha employed Pearson as manager at OH Leuven, the Belgian club also owned by King Power, having enjoyed four years working together at Leicester between 2011 and 2015.
After the tragic news of Srivaddhanaprabha’s death, Pearson has written a letter in tribute to his former colleague, saying “his quiet yet authoritative aura, presence and personality have had an immeasurable influence on English football”.
“It is with extreme difficulty that I write to express and offer my sincere condolences and support to the Srivaddhanaprabha and wider King Power family,” Pearson writes.
“The leadership and managerial processes he instilled and encouraged within Leicester City over a sustained period of time has borne fruit in such a way that people throughout the world witnessed the impossible by seeing a club win the Premier League in the most incredible circumstances.”
“My regret is that he will not see the fruition of his vision. It is an important point to remember that, with both clubs, he chose to invest in clubs with potential, to nurture a club with a soul and culture founded on sound values, rather than achieving a ‘quick fix’.”
Pearson said that “On a personal level, a manager could not have wished for a better boss”. “His warmth, humour and generosity have always been extended to my own family, something for which we will all be eternally grateful for.”
To read Pearson’s letter in full, click here.
