Nigel Pearson is never one for divulging any kind of transfer activity, unless it’s very much in his interest to, as was the case when Adam Nagy handed in a request last August. But any questions revolving around possible incomings and outgoings at Ashton Gate are usually replied with a stiff tone and variations on the line, “when anything is happening, you’ll find out about it through the official channels.”
Then again, Pearson has also previously said he likes to play games with the media, using his own bone-dry sense of humour. And both his secretive and mischievous sides collided with the signing of Kal Naismith on Friday night.
It was a deal that took everybody by surprise, not just by the timing. Absolutely nobody outside of BS3 had tracked the Scot’s impending arrival - neither local nor national media - while speaking to people in the game, the transfer has raised a few congratulatory eyebrows with how it was conducted under a cloak of apparent darkness.
However, just 12 days ago we were provided with a devilish little club from Pearson as he spoke to Geoff Twentyman on BBC Radio Bristol about Luton Town’s achievements this season of reaching the play-offs, given their precious financial resources relative to City.
It didn’t seem it at the time but in the context of Naismith signing a three-year contract at Ashton Gate after Luton had offered him a new deal to try and keep him in Bedfordshire, it now seems more than prophetic. Clearly, something was going on but Pearson had managed to hide it in plain sight.
To the question, “what can we learn from the success of clubs like Luton?” from listener Virtual Robin, Pearson said: “What can we learn from that? That an aggressive, tight culture promotes togetherness, and that’s what we need here; and we’ll get that when we achieve our targets in terms of getting some sort of equality in our wage bill, where people know where they sit - we don’t want too many people in the building.
“Luton had a fantastic season, we got one point off them, but I cast my mind back to both games and we should have beaten them in both games.
“The point is, that what you need to do is, the culture that underpins how you play creates an environment in which whoever works in it, whether they’re players or staff, are there to be successful. Our identity is being formed now and we will be competitive this next year and after hopefully even more competitive. We will be better than we were.
“Luton is a really good story. Their problem, of course, is: if they don’t go up this year, can they keep their players? [audibly guffaws] The likelihood, with the players out of contract is no, because a lot of those players will try and cash in, and their agents will cash in on their clients having a good season.
“I’ve played and worked for teams that had sort of a mentality and it’s a fantastic quality but you also recognise it doesn’t last for long but you also have to have a high turnover of players. But I don’t waste energy wishing for things that we don’t have, I concentrate on what the job is with us, and that is getting the best out of what we are, before wishing to be somebody else.”
Those comments were made on May 16, four days before Luton confirmed their retained list, after being defeated over two legs by Huddersfield, with Naismith one of three players who the Hatters revealed they were in talks with over a new deal.
Naismith reinforces an area of concern for Pearson given the regularity at which City shipped goals - 77 against, second highest figure in the division. Defending is a collective thing and an individual can only change so much but having a figure of the acumen of Naismith undoubtedly help improve it a little easier.
Speaking to Robins TV, Naismith has shown an indication of the sort of mentality he’ll bring to the club with a focus on work ethic and helping those around them to ensure collective improvement; the sort of language that will be music to Pearson’s ears and help transfer some of the strengths of that Luton team into the Robins.
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