Pearson, 51, spent 16 months with the Magpies - starting in 2006 - in a variety of roles such as assistant manager, first-team coach and two week-long runs as caretaker boss, and is well aware of the nature of the pressure Pardew is under.

He said: "I've still a lot of very good memories from my time there, although being caretaker was not a good experience because I was replacing someone I had worked with.

"The initial appointment came out of the blue. I had just left West Brom as Bryan Robson had gone and I did not expect to be in work so quickly. But it was a great experience for me. It's a big club and there were a lot of good things about it.

"It was unfortunate, probably because of the expectation and a few other circumstances, that as first-team coach there I worked for three managers. It shows you the volatile nature of football and the expectations that go with big clubs.

"It's the nature of football that sometimes the expectation can be used as the opportunity to make changes, but change is not always the best thing.

"Sometimes if you make an appointment and you think the person is the right person when you bring them in, it's then about having the right amount of time and support to get the job done.

"I've had times here (at Leicester) when it has not been easy for either myself, the staff or the players, so I understand what it is like to work under those sorts of pressures.

"When it becomes personal it's never nice."