Nigel Pearson: Ex-Leicester boss not lined up for Derby job

Nigel Pearson was born in Nottingham and has had two spells managing Leicester City

Derby County have not approached former Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson about succeeding Paul Clement as their new head coach, BBC Derby Sport reports.

Pearson, 52, has been strongly linked with the role following Clement's sacking on Monday.

But the Rams are adamant Darren Wassall, who was appointed on a deal until the end of the season, will be given time to prove his worth.

Pearson was sacked by Leicester at the end of June.

Nottingham-born Pearson guided the Foxes to Premier League survival last season but was replaced by Claudio Ranieri in the summer.

But BBC Radio Derby's Owen Bradley says Pearson has not been contacted to resume his managerial career with the Rams.

He said on Twitter: "Plenty of people throwing their hat in the ring for the Derby County job, as you might expect.

"I'm told it's definitely a case of candidates making contact, rather than the club going after them."

Derby are fifth in the Championship table, six points adrift of leaders Middlesbrough.