Source: Daily_Mail
Birmingham chairman Peter Pannu: There will be no fire sale
ShareChairman Peter Pannu insists Birmingham will not sell any of their leading players on the cheap following relegation from the Barclays Premier League. [LNB]Blues are facing a ?25million downturn in revenue for next season after their two-year spell in the top flight came to an end on Sunday following a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham. [LNB]At least eight players are set to leave - loanees and those whose contracts have expired - but Pannu is adamant the likes of Roger Johnson, Ben Foster, Scott Dann, Nikola Zigic and Craig Gardner will stay at St Andrew's unless a suitable offer is received. [LNB] Roger and out: Birmingham have been relegated but want to keep the likes of defender Johnson[LNB]Prized assets: Craig Gardner (left) and Ben Foster[LNB]He said: 'If someone offers ?3million for one of our top players, they will be told "forget it". If someone offers ?10million, ?15million, then we are more likely to think about it - but nothing is cast in stone. It is too early really to talk about this sort of thing.'[LNB] Lee Bowyer, Kevin Phillips, Sebastian Larsson and Stuart Parnaby are out of contract while Alexander Hleb, David Bentley, Matt Derbyshire and Obafemi Martins have ended their loan spells. [LNB]Pannu plans to meet Birmingham manager Alex McLeish to discuss their plans for next season in the next couple of days after club owner Carson Yeung decided to keep faith with the former Rangers boss. [LNB]He said: 'Carson was devastated on Sunday and was not happy but a decision was made to retain Alex. I will be meeting him to discuss what we must do for next season. We will do everything in our power to try and win instant promotion.'[LNB]McLeish admits some of his key players will want to leave the club, but the Scot hopes to keep 10-goal leading scorer Gardner, club player of the year Foster and central defender Dann, who missed the second half of the season through injury.[LNB]In addition playmaker James McFadden, skipper Stephen Carr and defender Martin Jiranek are all believed to be in discussions with Birmingham over taking up options on their current contracts.[LNB]The wage bill will be reduced as the players have a clause in their contracts which means salaries will be reduced in the event of relegation.[LNB] United we stand: Alex McLeish is aiming to keep his squad of players together[LNB]McLeish said: 'I will speak to the players. There are one or two that are out of contract and we have to decide what is happening.[LNB]'Some of the guys will have other options and we appreciate that. The fact is we are in the Championship and not the Premier League and I'm sure they'll have choices.[LNB]'It's tough on us to be relegated but we don't lie down and bury our heads in the sand. We've got to get on with the next challenge. We've got to show leadership.'[LNB] McLeish gets one more shot with Blues, but he's in last chance saloon Martin Samuel: The day the Premier League clock stopped tickingTake it like a fan! Supporters of Premier League clubs review their seasonAll the latest Birmingham City FC news, features and opinion [LNB] Explore more:People: Craig Gardner, David Bentley, Stuart Parnaby, Lee Bowyer, Matt Derbyshire, Scott Dann, Kevin Phillips, Sebastian Larsson, Alex McLeish, Roger Johnson, Obafemi Martins, Ben Foster Places: Birmingham
