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Bristol City are set to part company with boss Nigel Pearson, according to TEAMtalk sources, with an official announcement likely in the next 24 hours.

Pearson did not take charge of City’s 3-2 Championship defeat at Coventry City on Saturday. The club confirmed the manager was “feeling unwell” so assistant Curtis Fleming took charge of the fixture. Pearson, 58, took charge of the Robins in February until the end of the season before signing a three-year contract in April.

Pearson contracted Covid-19 for the second time in October, which saw him temporarily step away from team affairs. Fleming stepped in to lead the team in the games against Millwall and Peterborough.

Pearson, who has managed Leicester, Derby and Watford, admitted last year that 2020 was testing time for him physically and mentally.

The Nottingham-born manager had to deal with the unexpected death of his mother in January. He was then sacked by Watford with two games of the season to go in July. And on top of that he has had to battle with coronavirus on two occasions.

“I had some heart issues, and then joint issues… it was a difficult time,” Pearson told Sky Sports in November 2020.

“Through August and September, I was particularly unwell for sure. But the medication I’m on now is certainly helping a lot, and there’ll be a lot of people out there experiencing the same.”

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everybody for their support and well wishes over the last few weeks while I’ve been dealing with covid again. The club, @BristolCity, has been brilliant with its support and I’ve been very appreciative of this in particular…1/2

— Nigel Pearson (@NigelGPearson) October 13, 2021

Pearson says he was unsure whether his illness played a part in Watford’s decision to sack him.

“I don’t know what the reason is, I was never given a reason. Presumably it was just the owner’s decision to change,” he added.

“I was furious at the time, obviously. I’d shown a lot of commitment – even when I lost my mum, I didn’t break stride at work.”

The Robins have lost six of their last eight Championship games and Fleming was furious with the latest defeat to 10 men.

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Fleming angry

Fleming said: “At the moment it’s a bit of anger, a bit staggered. Probably a little bit raw, so you’re trying to keep the emotions inside, but the emotions came out in the dressing room after the game. For me, it was disappointing because we were 2-1 up against 10. We can talk about age and inexperience but it doesn’t matter.

“We should have really enjoyed that today, been strong and confident, but we seemed to sit back 2-1 up against 10 men and they looked the better team.

“It’s something we need to keep working on – how much do we really want it? How much do we want to be professional footballers? Because this is what it is, this is the game – there is no hiding away from it.

“You have to walk out in front of 25,000 people. And you’ve got to put your soul, head and body on the line.”

The post EXCLUSIVE: Bristol City set to announce departure of boss Nigel Pearson appeared first on TEAMtalk.