Earlier in the season, Nigel Pearson outlined some of his guiding principles in terms of selection and how he deals with players; in very simple terms, if a player is selected and plays well, he keeps his place. If he does not, he’s dropped.
This is all terribly obvious but it’s important at the same time in the context of the modern game because with squad rotation and manager’s employing, in general, greater tactical acumen in their preparation, players can be taken out of the starting XI for reasons beyond their previous performance.
Not for Pearson. He said he has to be “honest and fair” with his players with the theory that they would then be honest with him in terms of their own performance.
