Alex McLeish has denied a fall-out with the Blues board over the signing of Giovanny Espinoza.

It had been suggested McLeish had turned down the chance to sign the 32-year-old only for the player’s representatives to contact the club directly.

However, McLeish has denied he is unhappy with the signing of Espinoza.

While McLeish concedes the Ecuadorian is lacking in terms of experience of English football, he believes the veteran stopper will provide good competition for places.

“The board have given me great backing so far so I’m dismayed by claims suggesting I am not happy with the signing of Espinoza,” he said.

“Although he’s a rookie in English terms, he has vast international experience and it will be up to the centre-backs to compete as I attempt to build a solid spine.”

Meanwhile, Blues will allow third-choice goalkeeper Colin Doyle to go out on loan next season to gain more first-team experience. And Blues have failed in a bid to land former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira on a free transfer from Inter Milan.