Franck's been a star at the back, says Birmingham City

Sep 8 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

Giovanny Espinoza, who had been getting up to speed after his summer move from Ecuador, has had to play second fiddle to Queudrue, whose natural position is left-back.

Queudrue has been paired in the heart of defence with Roger Johnson, another of McLeish’s new recruits.

The manager, however, did warn that Queudrue could not afford to try anything clever.

McLeish said he wanted him to stick to the defender’s arts and not get carried away.

Last time in the Premier League Queudrue filled in at centre-half with mixed results.

“Franck reads the game well. He is very good in the air. He plays some great passes from defence,” said McLeish.

“And as long as – and I keep reminding him of this – he doesn’t take chances, because good footballers tend to take chances, he will be fine.

“At the back is one area where there has got to be a real sense of responsibility and so far Franck has certainly shown that.”

For Sunday’s derby at home to Villa, Queudrue and Johnson should remain in the thick of things.

Gergory Vignal could have recovered from a hamstring strain and hip problem after three games out to return at left-back.

That would mean Stephen Carr moving across to his more natural right-back position, at the expense of Stuart Parnaby.

Dann, meanwhile, is expected to make his comeback from injury at West Ham United in the reserves tonight (7pm).

After recovering from a “tidy-up” operation on his knee in the summer, he then suffered a thigh strain that was aggravated in warm-up matches. He has still to make his competitive Blues debut.

* Howard Webb will referee the Blues-Villa clash, it has been announced.

Webb ignored a blatant Blues penalty and set up Wolves’ goal by getting in the way of a pass the last time he officiated a derby at St Andrew’s, in the FA Cup last season.