Birmingham City Football Club News

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1875
• Manager:Chris Hughton

• Ground:St Andrew's
• Capacity:30,016

Ferguson surprises McLeish

24 Mar 2010 - 09:24:54

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Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has admitted to being surprised that midfielder Barry Ferguson has been such a success since heading to St Andrew's last summer from Rangers.

The 32-year-old Scotland international has scored twice in 35 appearances for the Blues and has helped McLeish's side shock many pundits by moving up into the top half of the table.

McLeish said: "I suppose Barry has done better than I expected.

"I spoke to him last summer and said I wasn't sure whether he still had the legs for the Premier League.

"He said 'I will come in and train with you, prove to you that I still have'. He was desperate to come and link up with us again - myself, Roy Aitken and Andy Watson.

"To be honest he was the type of player I really needed, someone who could take the ball and he's a guy who plays with his heart and soul.

"Has he repaid me? Absolutely. The season we have had has been amazing and he has made a big impact. It was probably easier for him to come to work with me again. We had such a good relationship.

"At some stage the legs go and players themselves have to acknowledge it and realise that.

"But somebody of Barry's quality is capable of playing three or four more years even if their legs do go a little bit."