Alex McLeish has brushed off suggestions Birmingham would have secured Premier League safety had Steve Bruce remained in charge.
In fact, he said neither Sir Alex Ferguson nor Jose Mourinho could have guaranteed safety if they had taken charge when he did.
The Blues must avoid defeat against Blackburn on Sunday to have any hope of avoiding relegation.
Bruce quit City late in November after becoming fed up with the uncertainty surrounding the possible takeover of the club.
He has gone on to lead Wigan to safety and McLeish said: “Steve could have stayed and taken Birmingham clear of trouble. But equally they could have been adrift.
“The challenge for me was to improve things and hopefully by the end of the season steer clear of relegation.
“If Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho came into this job when I did, you couldn’t say for sure they would have got the club clear of relegation.”
Blackburn go into the final game of the season with an outside chance of snatching sixth place and an Intertoto Cup spot. Rovers also need Aston Villa to drop points.
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3 Comments
McLeish must accept full responsibility for the failings of the team. That is what he is paid for.
A long time ago he should have seen the failings of the team both in scoring and defending. The Blues fans deserve medals for having to endure the
games that should have been won not not relying on the final game of the season.
Well said Jeff..
Mc should go and take the board with him, they must be worth aroung a billion£££ together but put no decent money into the club thats why we have got average players which were simply not good enough for the Prem..
Get big Sam in now…
This one might seem strange to you blues fans, but here is one Villa fan who is sad to see them go down. How wonderful it would have been to have six local derby’s between us and West Brom, great for the area, great for the clubs and great for the fans, not to mention the money they would generate for all three clubs. Believe me I know exactly how it feels, dont forget we went down to the old third division a few years ago, at which time I was a season ticket holder and I cant even begin to describe that feeling. I hope you have a successful season and get to rebuild a team that will bounce straight back, good luck…see you all in August 2009.