ALEX McLeish has urged his players to give him more and force their way firmly into the reckoning.

The Blues manager admitted that the attacking blend was still being sought this season.

McLeish stood by his right to select the team as he saw fit, judging on how players shaped up in training and fitness-wise.

But he said the door was open, especially for the strikers to help boost Blues’ production.

“There are places up for grabs, for the strikers,” McLeish said. “Nikola Zigic has got to give us more, Matt Derbyshire has got to give us more.

“They’ll argue they haven’t had many minutes, but we train every day and play matches on the training ground as well.

“The guys have got to show me in these kind of situations. We see them every day so we know who should be rightly playing and who is still looking to find their feet.

“Maybe once we get these guys fully fit, we will be much more potent. But the gauntlet’s down there to them, I’m looking for someone to produce that ‘wow’ factor.”

McLeish has started Aleksandr Hleb off the front in two of Blues’ last three Premier League matches and before him it was James McFadden, who is now sidelined with injury.

“We’re struggling with the strikers, they’ve got to show me what they can do. This is why I’m playing Alex Hleb up front, to try and get a bit of quality between the midfield and attack,” said McLeish.

“Quite simply, we’re looking for a bit of a link-up up front and we’re looking for the right blend. I’m still searching for that.”