Nigel Pearson: 'Hard work is paying off'

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has heaped praise on his players after they recorded a sixth successive home win to remain top of the Championship.

An Andy King goal was enough to hand Leicester a 1-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion and Pearson has insisted that the result was important after they could only draw with Birmingham City at the weekend.

Pearson said: "After the draw at Birmingham, it was important to get maximum points from this match and the Crystal Palace game coming up on Saturday.

"They are both tough matches and this league is pretty relentless. So all credit to the players.

"They have worked hard in games and on the training ground, to get us to where we are at the moment."

Pearson is in his second spell with Leicester after previously guiding the club to the League One title in 2009.