Paul Dickov’s final months of his first spell in sky blue coincided with Pearce’s one season as a City player, while Dietmar Hamann’s one season at Newcastle United was the Manager’s second and final year in the north-east.
The Scottish striker, who returned to the Club in the summer, now has to have a slightly different relationship with someone he once lined up alongside.
“The relationship is different now, but either way the Manager is very passionate and enthusiastic about his football, as I am,” asserts the 33-year-old.
“You can see that enthusiasm, the way that he is and how he wants his team to play. It comes over in training sessions as well, it’s infectious and when you have a manager like that it’s bound to rub off on everybody-else.”
That the Manager played until relatively recently is also an advantage, according to Dickov.
“I think he probably finds that a bonus as well because he can relate to the players, he’s not been out of the game for a few years. He’s experienced all the things that have come into football in the last few years first-hand as a player.
“His man-management, having only been out of the game for a short while, is fantastic because he defnitely knows what players want and need.”
Dietmar Hamann concurs on how what he saw of Pearce the player will translate into Pearce the manager.
“He has the right ingredients to be one of the top English, or even European, managers. He has only just started, but he began very well last year and with more experience every manager gets better.”
