Bristol City chairman Jon Lansdown will bide his time before opening potential contract talks with manager Nigel Pearson but confirmed there is "a lot to like" after coming through a difficult period.
Pearson's deal with the club expires next summer and the club appears in no rush to explore the opportunity of extending his stay in BS3 as it stands. Tuesday's FA Cup defeat against Manchester City ended an impressive 12-game unbeaten run that has lifted them 13 points adrift of the bottom three.
It was only on Boxing Day, the last time City lost in the league, when the 59-year-old's position in the dugout came under scrutiny. Pearson came under increased pressure following a run of three victories in 17 games.
In a recent interview with the Telegraph, Pearson said: “On Boxing Day the second anniversary of the job looked unlikely [a home defeat by West Brom]. I’m sure it crossed their minds [the board] about what the potential changes could be, but I’m not going to give up on it."
City head to Severnside rivals Cardiff City on Saturday looking to maintain their momentum in the league. Such has been the impressive turnaround, Pearson opened up the possibility of making a late play-off charge as they sit 10 points adrift of Luton Town but also have a game in hand.
Lansdown praised Pearson for his continued work both on and off the pitch but was reluctant to get onto the topic of extending his deal during an interview with BBC Radio Bristol. "Not at the moment," he said. "He still has plenty of his contract left in that sense. It's not something that has come up. Obviously, we're all enjoying what's happening at the moment.
"I think that's a conversation I'd rather have with him first before going on the radio. At the moment, everything is going well.
"I think we can easily say between us we've had testing times and we're enjoying a great run at the moment so it's probably why I'm being asked the question so long may it continue.
"It's great the results have followed because Nigel has done a lot of great work. Even if you look at the High Performance Centre, he's great with the women's team and the staff but unless you're winning on the pitch, everyone knows that, he'll say it to you as well.
"Nigel's experienced. Everyone knows you have to win football games at the end of the day but there's lots of good stuff going on and lots of stuff we're building together so it's great that it's followed suit because that's what we all want."
Off the field, Pearson and staff have worked hard to reduce a wage bill that was having a crippling impact on the club's finances, particularly after the impact of Covid. Patience has been required in that regard and while the emergence of exciting academy prospects has been a huge positive, their lack of experience has also brought inconsistency to performances and results.
Over 20 players have left the club since Pearson's appointment and with a limited budget at his disposal, the rebuilding process has taken longer than previously anticipated. But following a successful January window and plans to further strengthen with up to four new arrivals in the summer, the manager is finally being handed the opportunity to sign players that will allow him to take the club forward.
When asked to summarise City's season, Lansdown added: "There's a lot to like. We've got a lot of really good young players in the team and have a really good base to build something positive.
"It's been a bit of a wait for those results to follow suit but now we're in a bit of form we can start to see that and talk about it more because it's easier to do so. We still want to win more games and get further up the table.
"It's nice to see that it's starting to come together, the squad is tight and there's a very good spirit between the coaching staff and players."
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