Nigel Pearson refutes 'bully' claims

Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson has refuted suggestions that he is a bully following his ugly verbal exchange with a journalist on Wednesday.

Following their 3-1 loss to Chelsea, he labelled reporter Ian Baker an "ostrich" after asking the Foxes boss to elaborate on a remark in a press conference that ended with Pearson storming out.

He has since apologised to Baker after coming under fire for the rant, but the 56-year-old insists that he is not a bully.

"Bully is a word that is very easy to use but I am not [one]," he told reporters. "Fundamentally, I am what I am. The model that is sometimes thrown at me as being dour and arrogant - people can have their views on that.

"But the people who work very closely with me know me a damn sight better, because I allow them to get to know me.

"It is about privacy and trust. I allow people who I trust to get to know me but outside of that I don't."

City, who sit one place and one point above the relegation zone, host fellow strugglers Newcastle United at the King Power on Saturday.