Pearce goes on the offensive

Perhaps stung a little by the criticism and negativity heading his way this week over the England under-21 role, Stuart Pearce has fought back today declaring that he is more than capable of combining the two roles, and urging City fans to 'get real' over fears he would not treat City as his priority.

The biggest charm offensive was in todays MEN, where a two page interview with Chris Bailey saw Pearce trying to reassure fans (and the board?) that there would be no conflict of interest - pointing to the fact he would only be away for a handful of days between now and the end of the season, with it not being uncommon for him to miss certain training sessions, he would have attended the under-21 tournament anyway as an interested spectator/scout, and that the role would end at the climax of the tournament.

Peter Taylor also backed Pearce to be able to handle the pressures of the dual role and Pearce does have an argument with his comments today, and although I am still against him taking the role perhaps a lot of the talk was overblown in the aftermath of his bungled announcement on Sunday.

Andrew over at purelymancity offers an ever insightful perspective on the subject, claiming that there may be more behind the boards decision to reject the approach from the FA - and particularly the influence of Dennis Tueart at the club.

The impending transfer window deadline has perhaps pushed the timescale on a decision back a little - particularly given that it appears likely that a couple of reinforcements will be brought in before tomorrows midnight deadline.

However, expect this issue to dominate the column inches towards the end of the week and beyond until a decision is made - a decision that I fear could leave some long lasting feeling depending upon how it is resolved.