When the boos echoed around Ashton Gate among a chorus of "we want Pearson out" following the Boxing Day defeat to West Brom, it felt like a long road back for the Bristol City manager.
The storm had been brewing in BS3. Prior to that City were on a stretch of three wins in 16 including an embarrassing cup exit to Lincoln City, Andy King was preferred to Rob Atkinson in defence and the home faithful had seen just one victory in the previous nine matches.
Then in the aftermath of the Baggies defeat, Pearson threatened to fight fire with fire which went down rather acrimoniously in some quarters by declaring: "Maybe it might be a good thing for us to play away from home. It was a game where we really needed the fans to get behind us.”
In fairness, the comments were perhaps taken ever so slightly out of the full context, with the dust yet to settle on the defeat but given City were languishing perilously close to the drop zone, emotions were still in danger of spilling over as support for the manager wavered.
How close Pearson was to the sack, well only those in the upper echelons can answer that, but it felt as though City were heading into two tough away games at Millwall and Coventry City needing results and performances of some kind.
Fast forward to Saturday, and City extended their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions dating back to that miserable afternoon after Christmas. The turnaround has been nothing short of admirable.
It highlights how quickly things can change. That Boxing Day defeat six weeks ago almost feels like a distant memory with City now closer to the play-offs than the bottom three.
Whether you agree or disagree with Pearson at the time, he was correct in those comments about his preference for playing away from home and the growing vitriol. Arguably, it's proved the foundations to kick-start the turnaround in fortunes and form.
There are other factors, of course, which we'll come on to. Equally as important as those two vital points heading into January was the half-time break in the FA Cup third round against Swansea one goal behind when Pearson decided to scrap his 3-4-1-2 formation and adopt a 4-3-3.
But that point away at Millwall, one of the toughest places to go in the league, felt instrumental as the pressure on the manager and players mounted. It was far from a classic but it provided City with the platform to rebuild that confidence again, showing resilience and togetherness to stand up to the aerial deliveries being thrown at them.
Elements of luck were required. Rob Atkinson provided that when George Saville's strike deflected off his knee and onto the crossbar. Up the other end, Andi Weimann fired a volley inches wide of the post. Fine margins.
They took that to Coventry on New Year's Day and the character was tested after 12 minutes when Jake Bidwell opened the scoring. There were no signs of capitulation when Antoine Semenyo rose to the occasion with a timely leveller before the half-hour mark, his first goal in 16 games.
Only a last-gasp Ben Sheaf challenge on Weimann at the end stood in the way of three points. Any draw away from home in the Championship is all well and good but Pearson needed wins to build much-needed momentum.
A return to Ashton Gate would follow with Swansea prepped to take advantage of City's fragility on home soil and after a first half where Pearson's side were chasing shadows, Pearson rolled the dice and changed the formation for the first time this season.
A back four saw Kal Naismith pushed forward into defensive midfield, Cam Pring and George Tanner dropped in as full-backs while Andi Weimann shifted over to the right of the attack, Nahki Wells through the middle and Semenyo over on the left.
The change on the pitch was instant. City played with confidence, carried more of a threat and fully deserved their equaliser when Semenyo headed beyond Steven Benda to book a replay.
City's turn of results, including 12 goals in their last five matches, have brought back the feel-good factor. The 3-0 FA Cup victory over West Brom, which set up a tie against Manchester City, was the standout performance with Pearson even suggesting it was one of the most complete in his two-year tenure.
We saw a different type of display on Saturday against Preston. It was dogged, robust and marked everything that typifies what a Pearson side is all about sprinkled with another moment of magic from Alex Scott.
City are continuing to evolve in the 4-3-3. Naismith is adapting to playing defensive midfield and the added security of Matty James has allowed Scott to play with freedom at both ends of the pitch.
There's also no coincidence City's wide men are having a huge influence. An in-form Sam Bell has scored four in four while Mark Sykes, utilised for the majority of the season as a wing-back, has four in his last five in his favoured role.
A successful January window also contributed to the air of positivity around the club. Despite selling Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth, City appear to have reinvested the money wisely in talent Anis Mehmeti and Luton's Harry Cornick for a bargain-low six-figure fee as he approached the end of his deal.
The run of form will come to an end at some point but there's no reason why it can't continue a little longer. Norwich City will prove a stern test at the weekend having scored eight goals in their last two away matches although their confidence would have been shaken with a 3-0 loss to Burnley at the weekend.
The Robins aren't the finished article and this summer will provide another opportunity to reduce the wage bill while targeting young and upcoming talent in the Football League. However, for the time being, City don't need to look over their shoulders and can instead start looking up.
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