McLeish keeping Blues grounded

06 February 2010 10:51
The midlands outfit have, to date, been one of the success stories of the current Premier League campaign, having embarked on a 12-match unbeaten run that has brought with it a place in the top eight.[LNB]Some fans, although certainly not all, in the Second City have muttered talk of a possible European finish come May.[LNB]But, in what is the club's first season back among England's elite, McLeish only has eyes on survival and has repeatedly looked to keep fans and players alike grounded.[LNB]The injection of funds following Carson Yeung's takeover and the availability of £40million in the January window only went to increase optimism in some quarters.[LNB]And with Blues constantly linked to big-name forwards such as Roman Pavlyuchenko, Kenwyne Jones and Ryan Babel, some supporters were left disappointed that the forward line was not bolstered at all.[LNB]But McLeish, who pulled out all the stops in his attempts to sign a striker, said: "You know, let's not go quite so high so soon because if we brought in a big major signing then there would be an expectation that we would go into Europe.[LNB]"And I don't think we're quite ready for that yet.[LNB]"If we get there we'll take it, but the expectation levels put more pressure on everybody with the bigger the signing you make."[LNB]Midfield duo Michel and Craig Gardner did arrive at St Andrew's, but a striker was always top of the agenda.[LNB]Tottenham frontman Pavlyuchenko was high on the list and a move looked to be on the cards towards the end of the deadline, only for a £10m bid to be rejected and the deal to fall through.[LNB]Blues are certain to be back in the market for a forward - and maybe Pavlyuchenko - again in the summer, but McLeish is adamant everything possible was done that could have been over the past month.[LNB]"As you know, we tried," said the Scotsman.[LNB]"There were a number of names that we were linked with. We tried, we tried hard.[LNB]"In the end I felt I didn't have anybody who could really take us forward.[LNB]"There were complications in one or two other deals and it just didn't happen."[LNB]McLeish, whose team host Wolves tomorrow, continued: "We made some enquiries for three or four players at that kind of price margin (£10-£12m).[LNB]"And some of the wages would have been acceptable, but we couldn't quite meet the other clubs' asking prices.[LNB]"And that's up to them. You can't blame them for that.[LNB]"I don't think anybody tried to rip us off, the prices were probably market prices.[LNB]"Clubs dug their heels in and some others we got a wee bit scared of in terms of the rise in wages.[LNB]"There were a lot of factors and we felt it was right to prepare for the summer."[LNB][LNB] Birmingham 4/5, Draw 12/5, Wolves 4/1  

Source: Team_Talk