Dodd and Gorman have done as well as can be expected of them, but after a brief resurgence of effort following Burley's departure, the players have seemed to slip back into the comfort zone and alarmingly close to the relegation zone.
A no. 2 in the Championship, Premiership and U21s, Pearson has had brief spells as caretaker manager for the likes of Newcastle and West Brom. In reality, with so much uncertainity surrounding the club, this feels a caretaker appointment in itself. Interestingly there was no mention of the contract length in the initial announcement, although it is believed to be a rolling contract (the club have now updated the article!).
Clearly Dodd and Gorman couldn't continue so at least this buys the club some time and gives Pearson a chance to prove his worth. Under the current circumstances, many fans were calling for a disciplinarian in the mould of Billy Davies and Pearson does come with a no nonsense reputation.
While the club may have had plans to appoint a bigger name in the summer, time ran out and relegation to League One would leave virtually no chance of a takeover.
We just have to hope that the players respond to Pearson and that he can at least secure our Championship status by stemming the flow of bad results. A winnable game at home to Plymouth would be a start, but let's not forget Burley's very poor start to his tenure and that it may take time to turn things around.
Welcome to the club, Nigel, we're grateful you're here and wish you luck - you'll need it!