Carsley: Positive times for Blues

Yeung's Grandtop International Holdings investment company recently completed the formalities of their £81.5million purchase of Blues. The Hong Kong businessman met with manager Alex McLeish and his players at the training ground last week. And while veteran midfielder Carsley admits players do not always focus on off-field matters, he has been impressed by the plans for the future laid out by the Blues' new owner. He told the club's official website: "I have said before that footballers are quite selfish, as long as they are playing and doing well, they are pretty much oblivious to what's going on off the pitch. "Last week was a bit different with the new owner and all the staff coming down to the training ground to introduce themselves to the players. "They've brought along an optimism whereby things are going to improve in terms of our spending power. "It's important that we keep improving and keep moving forward and when they came down to see us they were really enthusiastic and excited about the prospect of taking the club onto the next level. "I think definitely, 100 per cent, it's a positive thing for the club and I'm putting my faith in them and I hope everyone else is." Yeung has promised McLeish will have £40million to invest in new players in the January transfer window, a figure which Carsley believes should motivate the current squad. While an influx of new talent could see some players heading for the exit, the Republic of Ireland international insists that the long-term future of the club is what matters the most. He added: "The figures talked about don't affect the dressing room - definitely not. At the end of the day we all want to be in the Premier League. "Players aren't going to be at Birmingham forever. But the club is going to be around for a long time and it's important that Birmingham City is in the Premier League because the fans deserve to watch Premier League football. "If we can attract a higher quality of player, every department could do with a lift. It brings a different kind of tempo to training and it raises everyone's game. "It's fantastic. I think the gaffer would take half of what was promised in January to be honest. It's a difficult time to buy players. You don't always get your top picks, type of thing. "But you can still attract good players, even though we are where we are in the league. Hopefully we're at the start of something big and players will see that. "I don't suppose we are going to attract the kind of players Manchester City are attracting, but we're in a different kind of market. "I think the type of players we're after, we're not going to be gazumped by the likes of Stoke and other clubs we have been in the past. It's positive times and we're all looking forward."

Source: Team_Talk