McLeish wants to make his mark at Birmingham City

Nov 27 2008 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

really believed Scotland would qualify [for Euro 2008], such was my confidence in the team.

“It was only afterwards, after the Italy game, when it was done and dusted, the realisation dawned that I didn’t know if I could hang around any longer, waiting on international football for another eight months. I really wanted to get back into the club scene.

“Birmingham sought permission from the Scottish FA and it was done.

“I was so thrilled at getting back into a great, traditional British football club like Birmingham. But what a challenge.

“I took on the Scotland job with people saying it could only go one way after Walter Smith’s great results, and that was down. But I thought ‘what if it goes the other way?’

“And I thought equally the same about Birmingham, although we didn’t quite make it, despite a fantastic effort.

“I think I said at the time, it was an inexperienced squad. I know that age sometimes doesn’t matter in football, it’s just how good you are.

‘But in terms of being streetwise, a lot more teams were streetwise than us.”

McLeish has made Blues much more streetwise since, and that’s a reason why they sit second in the Championship behind Wolves, who they visit on Saturday.

The masterplan in the summer, after the dust settled following the drop, had to be geared to an instant reaction and return, McLeish said.

Hence the experienced, round-the-block additions of Lee Carsley, Kevin Phillips and Marcus Bent in the summer.

“Short-termism,” stated McLeish. “Maybe some managers would look to a three, four-year game-plan to build a team.

“Mick McCarthy and Wolves are going well at the moment and it looks like they have been steadily building. It has culminated in a very good side this season.

“But there are also the teams who have come down from the Premier League, with the parachute payment, and they’ve got to have a real go at it to get back [straight away].

“With our missions and our goals, we hope that we can integrate three or four players and get to a higher level.”

If that is achieved, then in the summer McLeish will go again and revamp his squad.