Pearson rarely gives out much information about his private life, but did share a particularly interesting story with the Telegraph last January. He is a military history buff and also a keen hiker, with the Carpathian Mountains in Romania being one of his favourite spots, despite it being the setting for an incident that almost cost him his life.
The mountain range is home to a large population of brown bears who cause havoc for local sheep farmers by killing their flock. Farmers in the region keep packs of large dogs that are capable of killing these bears in order to protect their sheep. There have been incidents in the past where these dogs have attacked and killed hikers, mistaking them for predators. Pearson found himself in one such situation where he was set upon by a pack of five of these dogs. They may be able to take down a wild bear but proved no match for the Leicester manager.
The incident began when one of the dogs went straight for him, with the hope of holding his attention while the other four would attack from behind. Fortunately Pearson had done his research and was equipped to deal with the threat. He used his walking stick to attack the dogs eyes before taking refuge in a nearby batch of nettles knowing that the dogs can't stand the stinging on their sensitive noses.
Thinking that the dogs had cleared off he looked to resume his hike but found that they were still lurking. He faced down the dogs with his back against a tree again focusing his attack on the dogs eyes. It proved effective as the dogs eventually gave up allowing him get back to his his nature hike.
The cut throat world of premiership football management must not appear such a fearsome place for big Nigel having been through such a harrowing experience.
