Former Manchester City and Nottingham Forest boss Stuart Pearce has admitted that he was surprised after Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson launched a verbal attack on a journalist following his side's 3-1 defeat to Chelsea last night.

The Leicester boss called reporter Ian Baker an "ostrich" in an heated verbal exchange that ended when the Foxes boss stormed out of the press conference.

Pearce, who worked with Pearson during his time with the England Under-21s, says that the pressures of a relegation battle could have contributed to the outburst.

"It surprised me a little bit with Nigel," Pearce told Sky Sports News. "He worked alongside me as a coach and he's got a real fun-loving sense of humour. He's a funny fella. He is a lovely bloke.

"A couple of times this season I have seen Nigel react in this way in press conferences and it's surprised me because it's not the Nigel I know.

"He might look back and be a bit disappointed with that possibly but the pressure of the game pushes you in that direction sometimes."

Leicester's defeat leaves them 17th in the table, one point above the relegation zone.