Birmingham City: No full side for McLeish against Sunderland
ALEX McLeish said he was fully prepared to field a strong side for tonight’s Carling Cup tie at Sunderland - if only he had that luxury.
A squad of 17 flew up to Wearside for the third round game (7.45pm), including Liam Ridgewell, first year professional Ashley Sammons and the Academy’s Dan Preston.
Injury problems continue to hit hard and McLeish admitted that for that reason, and with a vital fixture coming up against Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League, Blues wouldn’t be at their maximum.
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“I can’t put a full side out,” admitted McLeish.
“Stevie Carr’s on the treatment table again. He’s been out a few weeks with a thigh strain.
“He felt it in the first-half at Hull on Saturday. He thought he could get through it, he thought it was manageable for the 90 minutes.
“But I can’t afford to use him at Sunderland before a very important Premier League game at the weekend.
“The Carling Cup is important to us and the fans, but we know that the Premier League is more important.
“I’d like to rest the Lee Bowyers and Barry Fergusons of this world, but they’ve got to be involved.
“It’s an horrendous injury list, bad luck. But by the end of the week I’m hoping we should have some players available again.
“There are some on their road to recovery, but the Carling Cup is too soon for most of them unfortunately.”
McLeish nominated Carr, Sebastian Larsson and Gregory Vignal as likely to be fit for the Trotters visit.
