Nigel Pearson has paid tribute to departing CEO Richard Gould admitting he'll be a huge loss for Bristol City and spoke of the challenges in replacing somebody of his calibre.
The club confirmed last weekend that Gould has taken up a brilliant role as chief executive of the ECB and will therefore leave his position at City following the end of the January transfer window after 18 months in the job.
Gould's appointment in the summer of 2021 replacing Mark Ashton proved a masterstroke with the 52-year-old playing a key figure behind the scenes in bringing stability to the club, helping trim the wage bill and playing an important role in bringing the Former Players' Association to light alongside Neil Palmer and Scott Davidson.
Gould was also successful in helping rebuild the relationship between the club and its supporters and Pearson emphasised his role and importance in bringing everyone together. Speaking ahead of Saturday's game, he said: "It will be a really big loss for us. The work he has done since he's been here - he has a very clever touch with how he works.
"You hear it so, so many times about collaboration and so many words like that and quite often it sounds meaningless but for us to stabilise our own position as a club needs real collaboration.
"That's one of his big skills and assets is how he works. Believe me, he makes some tough decisions as well so people in positions of authority have to be good decision-makers too and have to be decisive with their decision-making.
"You've got to remember that when he came in, that was the summer of significant change because I'd come in midway through February, Mark (Ashton) left and Richard came in to replace him and we'd also got a big change in what the squad looked like so he's had to familiarise himself with the club pretty quickly.
"I mean he's obviously worked at Bristol City before as commercial manager but has spent about 12 years successfully as CEO of both Somerset and Surrey (cricket clubs) so he's well versed in what business looks like, especially with his educational background too.
"He understands his remit which is quite a difficult one which is to dispose of and make cutbacks but improve too. That is not necessarily an easy thing to do. But it's achievable if you have a positive outlook on it and are solution driven.
"There's too many people out there who moan about anything. He's not one of those and I don't think I am either. It's having an understanding of what you're trying to do and then engaging with the workforce and he's done that very, very well. He'll be a big miss for us on lots of levels."
While it's too early to be speculating on his replacement, Gould's shoes are big ones to fill. The January transfer window could prove his final legacy at City and Pearson admitted they are working together now to plan for the New Year with both incomings and outgoings possible.
"I think it's important that we also recognise at the moment that he's going to be here until the end of the transfer window," Pearson added. "That will give you an indication into how we are all sort of thinking about it. It's really important we have some continuity with how we move forward.
"Richard's job along with everybody else is to try and make this club have a sustainable operation which means making some tough decisions. And decisions in my position and his position are not always going to be absolutely in agreement with everything but what we both recognise is that we need to make decisions that are right for the football club.
"Somebody of Richard's calibre is going to be difficult to replace but it's important that whoever comes in has the right skill set to continue the work that is being done.
"It's going to happen, he is going to leave but in the meantime, we have work to do and most of that work will be in preparation for the next window. That's not to say you'll get excited about a lot of deals being done. It's not about that.
"It's about if we do any deals they are done in a way which are beneficial to us as a football club whether that's ins or outs.
"I've been very pleased to have crossed paths with him and work with him and will continue to work with him until the end of January because he takes up a fantastic opportunity for himself. We're all delighted for him on a personal level but I think he will be a big miss for us."
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