Birmingham City: Alex McLeish refuses to get carried away at Birmingham City
Nov 28 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail
ALEX McLeish has admitted that Blues have every right to dream the dream but not get too carried away too quickly.
McLeish clocked up two years in charge at Blues today and asked where he saw himself and the club in another two years, he was a mixture of optimisim and caution.
“I would hope we can be still in the Premier League, but maybe competing in the middle part of the league,” he said.
“If we are talking about us getting in Europe, I wouldn’t want to be looking too far ahead. First things first. Staying in the league this year, never mind looking at two years time.”
He wanted Carson Yeung to concur: “Well I hope that (gradual progress) is the view of the owners because sometimes people who run the club can lose perspective of the whole thing.
“Roy Hodgson made a good point talking about taking Blackburn to Europe and then getting sacked the next season because things went against him, injuries, whatever. It was the same with David O’Leary at Leeds.
“That is the fickleness of football. Middle of the table then wasn’t enough for Blackburn. It would be good if the people you are employed by can get a better perspective of that side of it.”
McLeish said he would love to be at Blues for the long haul: “Yes, absolutely. We’ve got new owners and they say they can take it to a new level and I’m your man, count me in.
“But it is not an overnight job and never is, these things.
“I believe I can enhance the squad. There are short-term and long-term aims.
“The short-term aim is to make sure we are in the Premier League at the end of the season.
“I know I can help the players here by bringing in two or three decent quality players (in January). We don’t have to go and do an Olympic world record high jump as the next step.
“We can have small hurdles. I am conscious of that because I want to keep the character in the dressing room and not destroy it.”
As to whether Yeung and the board would be patient, McLeish responded: “I think they want to secure the Premier League safety as soon as possible so therefore they are keen to get some new recruits in because they are looking for lists from me.
“I can give them lists but we want to get down to shortlists rather than giving them ten names.
“They are very keen for us to maintain our Premier League place,” he added.
