IF NIGEL Pearson disappointed a lot of Hull City fans when he upped sticks to join Leicester 18 months ago, for one night only he can be the hero again.
Football has a funny habit of throwing up these twists and when Leicester face Watford tomorrow Pearson can be the one that seals City's promotion.
A win for Leicester is all it would take to start the celebrations in East Yorkshire and make the former manager an unlikely favourite with the club he walked out on.
It's worth remembering that it was Pearson who set City's rise in motion.
After relegation from the Premier League in 2010 it was Pearson that brought structure back to the club and steadied the ship. He also brought some very good players in that laid the foundations for Steve Bruce to build upon – that's where the credit should end.
If Pearson does do City a big favour and sends them up it won't be down to him. It's Bruce that has made all this possible.
Although I wouldn't have been surprised to see Pearson take the Tigers into the play-offs if he had remained at the KC, I'm not sure he could have taken the club on to the next level.
Bruce has that little bit more experience and it's shown this season. No one will mind if Pearson does the business tomorrow, though, and it's certainly not beyond the realms of probability.
With Leicester in desperate need of the win to keep their play-off chase alive, Watford will not find it easy getting the win to turn up the pressure on City.
They might have struggled for form but Leicester are still a strong group of players with a huge incentive of their own. If they play to their best, they're a match for anyone, as City found out when losing at the King Power Stadium in September.
I can see it being a score draw but it's too close to call.
Will that be enough for Pearson? We won't know until the final game of the season when they head to Nottingham Forest.
Anything less than a top- six finish could spell the end for him at Leicester. Their owners haven't shown much patience in the last couple of years and another season in the Championship might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
