No rush on Chucho decision - McLeish

02 May 2010 09:54
Alex McLeish will decide on the future of on-loan striker Christian Benitez in the next fortnight after Birmingham's 2-1 victory over Burnley.[LNB] Benitez finally scored his first home goal in the Premier League success against the Clarets at St Andrew's on Saturday.[LNB]Benitez has been with Blues all season and the Midlands club have the option of signing him permanently from Mexican club Santos Laguna.[LNB]But McLeish has still to make any definite decision and hinted that City may want to renegotiate the fee agreed for the Ecuador international last summer.[LNB]The former Scotland boss said: "We will cross that bridge regarding Benitez's future when we come to it. I will assess everything in the next couple of weeks.[LNB]"We have a deadline of May 25 to decide what we want to do. He has done well for us and we have to consider everything.[LNB]"Something could be sorted out before then. The fee is written into the deal but, you never know, loads of deals have been like that before and have become negotiable."[LNB]Benitez netted his fourth goal of the campaign - and his first at home - on his 24th birthday to help Birmingham reach the 50-point mark for the season.[LNB]They also ensured they have remained unbeaten in front of their own fans since September - a sequence of 15 games.[LNB]McLeish said: "We were very keen to get on to 50 points and it was very important to sustain the home record. Not to lose here since September is a marvellous achievement.[LNB]"At the beginning of the season we targeted a point a game. Our tally could have been even higher. We have stuttered recently in terms of results but not performances."[LNB]McLeish paid tribute to 'keeper Joe Hart, who has been on loan from Manchester City this season.[LNB]Hart is now a strong contender to be part of England's World Cup squad after his performances for City.[LNB]McLeish said: "People talk about Edwin van der Sar saving 15 points a season for Manchester United. We wanted someone of the same sort of ability to do likewise and Joe has done that."[LNB]Burnley boss Brian Laws reiterated his desire to remain at Turf Moor despite their relegation from the Premier League.[LNB]He said: "I want to be at the club next season, no question about that.[LNB]"We have been preparing for some time for next season, whether we are in the Premier League or the Championship.[LNB]"We want to take a leaf out of the book of someone like West Brom who went down, kept most of their squad together and bounced back immediately."[LNB]Laws also admitted he would take satisfaction should Burnley qualify for the Europa League because of their outstanding fair play record although it will depend on Fulham winning the competition.[LNB]Laws said: "We are Fulham's biggest fans at the moment and it would be great for the club if we could take part in Europe.[LNB]"The negative part is we would have to report back earlier but that would take care of pre-season and would be fantastic for the football club."

Source: Team_Talk