Nigel Pearson deserves to be a Premier League manager, Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has said.
City begin their play-off campaign tonight with their semi-final first leg against Watford at King Power Stadium, with a place at Wembley and possible promotion to the Premier League at stake.
Schmeichel believes no manager deserves to be in the top flight more than Pearson.
Now Schmiechel says the players are determined to win the play-offs, not just for themselves, but also for their manager.
"He deserves to be a Premier League manager in my opinion," said Schmeichel.
"He is very good. He has done a very good job here and I hope we can go out and do what is right for him and ourselves.
"That is what makes him a very good manager, he doesn't get carried away when things are going well and he doesn't get too down when things aren't going well.
"He is a very level-headed guy. He comes at us on an even keel.
"He has a philosophy of wanting to play young players, which is great for the game. He has stuck with a lot of the young players even when things haven't been going well and that takes a lot of courage I think.
"It is always good for the game when young players are being brought through.
"The way the Championship works you have to have hard work first and foremost before anything. If you don't work hard, you aren't going to go anywhere in this league.
"Young players tend to do that. They have the hunger and desire to want to work hard and we have worked hard all season."
Schmeichel also complimented City's owners for not panicking when the club's promotion dreams started to slip away in the final third of the season.
"That is testament to how the club is run," he said.
"The owners seem very level-headed. They don't make rash decisions. I think they are very good. As players, it is a nice environment to have.
"It is a club which seems to be stable. There is no point chopping and changing all the time and I hope the club gets the rewards it deserves."
