Nigel Pearson: Leicester City boss apologises for 'ostrich' rant

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has apologised for calling a journalist an "ostrich" during a bizarre post-match news conference.

Pearson also called Ian Baker of the Wardle Whittell Agency "stupid" and "daft" following Wednesday's 3-1 Premier League defeat by Chelsea.

"I apologise for last night, Ian. I wanted to do it straight away in front of the cameras," said Pearson at a news conference on Thursday.

"I was not happy about losing."

Baker, who was present, tweeted he had accepted Pearson's apology.

Pearson, speaking in the build-up to Saturday's home game with fellow strugglers Newcastle, added: "I react. Is it pressure? Might be.

"It's emotion more than anything. I'm not afraid of showing my emotions.

"I get labelled with certain titles which is people's prerogative and I also accept when I've stepped out of line so it is only right to apologise.

"I'm not trying to win any popularity contest and don't think I will be in the running for any of that."

The Foxes, on the back of four straight wins that lifted them out of the Premier League relegation zone, took a deserved first-half lead before Chelsea's second-half resurgence.

Pearson referred to "the amount of criticism and negativity" his side have faced this season and Baker, who occasionally works for the BBC Sport website, asked the Foxes boss to elaborate.

The former Hull manager then went on to call Baker an "ostrich", "stupid" and "daft".

"The players worked exceptionally hard," added Pearson on Thursday. "It is frustrating but there we are, we move on.

"There has been some unfair criticism of the team, it has been mixed.

"Some observations have been made by people who have not seen a large proportion of our season."

Leicester are 17th in the Premier League table, one point above the relegation zone with four matches remaining.

Ian Baker reacts to Pearson's apology

"I was not sure what to expect as I returned to the scene of my very public dressing down by Nigel Pearson. I was told to expect a "pleasant surprise" by Leicester's media man.

"An apology was not what I was thinking but to respond immediately on camera showed the decent side to Pearson. It was the right course of action and the 51-year-old handled himself well enough.

"As far as I am concerned, this is the matter closed. But accept it or not, Pearson needs to show his likeable side more often - as it is threatening to disrupt Leicester's incredible recent on the field efforts."