Nigel Pearson hints at decision on influential out-of-contract Bristol City star

Nigel Pearson hopes that influential figure Andy King will remain at Bristol City in his role as player-coach past the end of this season.

King is out-of-contract at the end of the current campaign, after penning a one-year deal last summer which saw him combine his duties as a player with a newly-created coaching role. The 34-year-old has been with Pearson at three separate clubs, and is a boyhood Robins fan.

He along with Jason Euell and Curtis Fleming and many others help assist Pearson both on the training ground and on a match-day with drills, as well as offering ideas. The 50-time Wales international is highly thought of by the younger players, who continue to state how much of an influence he is on them, and the supporting role he has in their development.

When asked to discuss King's future, he said: "He’s a member of staff isn’t he? Hopefully he’ll still be a member of staff here if he plays.

"He’s got value as a player, this season has been beneficial for his profile with our fan base. To see actually he still has something to offer but on top of that, he’s been and continues to be a big part of the development of our younger players."

King was a long-serving player at Leicester City and won the League One and Championship titles, before going on to win the Premier League in a fairy tale story. He admitted in March that he is in no rush to retire, and that he has yet to make a decision on whether he is to prolong his playing career.

He has had somewhat of a resurgence at Aston Gate after suffering a different campaign at City last season. King had a series of hamstring injuries that had him sidelined for a large part of the season, but this year he has put his injury problems behind him and has become someone who the team can depend on.

King has played 26 times this season for City in all competitions, and has been involved in the last seven matches. He has at times this season played in the unfamiliar role of centre-back, whilst also helping young Omar Taylor-Clarke with his emergence in the first-team.

Pearson added: "It’s something that has been discussed, there’s no secrets internally about that. Hopefully if both parties are happy then hopefully he’ll be doing a similar thing to what he’s done this year and that is be a valuable squad member but also have an important role to play with the development of the players."