Sol Bamba, a former defender for Middlesbrough and Leeds United, has discussed his involvement in a confrontation between Nigel Pearson and Neil Warnock.
Both Pearson and Warnock have a reputation for being forthright and have managed Bamba in their managerial careers. The Ivorian defender worked for Warnock at Cardiff City and Middlesbrough after playing for Pearson at Leicester City.
Warnock and Bamba are well known to be close, even though Warnock recently declared he was retired after leaving Aberdeen. The 39-year-old disclosed that during Bamba’s time as a defender for Leicester under Pearson, Warnock made a lighthearted approach towards him.
Bamba stated, “Neil Warnock was very good at that, his man management was unbelievable,” on the BBC’s Sacked in the Morning podcast.
It’s a skill, and mastering it is quite challenging, but once you do, I believe you’ve accomplished half the work. All the talk these days is about tactics, and that’s fine, but without a strong man manager, you’ll never win a game.
“I recall a fight between him and Nigel Pearson when I was playing for Leicester; they were both very different people. On the touchline, Warnock approached me and said, “You’d be playing in the Premier League and a millionaire if you play with me.”
Nigel did not react well to that. I played for him for about five or six years in the end. We got along really well. We had a natural connection.
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