Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish lays into former Aston Villa star Stan Collymore

Oct 2 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

“There was not a defensive midfielder in sight in that team last weekend. If I wanted to be cowardly I would be putting defensive midfielders in and going for a draw.

‘‘We didn’t go for a draw and we haven’t done any time I have played that system.

“Even against Villa we tried to win it. We tried to nullify Villa’s threat but at the same time tried to get a goal. Everything we do is designed to win a game.

“I could go with guys like Lee Carsley, Damien Johnson, who do that defensive job extremely well.

‘‘But I go with more forward-thinking players. It’s about getting as many of your best players as you can into the team, and it’s certainly not negative or cautious.”

Collymore also suggested that incoming owner Carson Yeung would not to be too happy with McLeish for adopting such a ‘cautious’ approach when he wanted to sell Blues as an ‘emerging brand’ in the Far East.

McLeish added: “I take on board the fans frustration. Of course I do.

‘‘But don’t think we didn’t agonise over the decision who to start, and what formation to use.

We do create opportunities with it, and anyone who has watched us this season will know that it’s not a case of us sitting back and not wanting to play.

“It’s important in the modern game to try and gain control of the midfield areas, and that’s what we have attempted to do, with the personnel available to us.

“Some people are missing the point. They should know better and try to understand the circumstances and see the bigger picture.”