Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson insists his side must focus on their match against fellow relegation battlers Sunderland to ensure their Premier League safety.
A rich vein of form which saw Pearson named as April manager of the month has led to Leicester getting out of the relegation zone and in 15th place. A better result than Hull City this weekend will ensure another year in the Premier League for the Foxes.
“First and foremost our concentration has to be on ourselves, on our own game, that’s not going to change,” Pearson said.
“I’ve tried not to change that all season, and I can’t see any reason to do that now. When it becomes probably more relevant with the last game of the season.”
“I’ve been involved in games and seen, probably more so with opponents, where what’s happened elsewhere during games becomes more of an issue in terms of how tactically a side have to alter.”
16th place Sunderland themselves have climbed out of the relegation zone and Pearson is wary of Dick Advocaat’s side who could go above Leicester with a win at the Stadium of Light:
“Sunderland have found a system that works, where they can get all their best attacking players on the pitch,” Pearson said.
“They have experience from being in this position last year and a very experienced coach as well, so there’s no doubt that this is a big game for both teams.”
“They have home advantage, which will undoubtedly be a help to them too.”
Leicester have won six of their last seven league games.
