Birmingham manager Alex McLeish was happy despite seeing his side slip to a 2-0 defeat in their pre-season friendly against VfB Stuttgart.

Blues were beaten by two late goals last night but were the better team for long spells of the game, against a side who finished third in the Bundesliga last season and earned a place in the Champions League.

McLeish said: “We tried a few things out tactically, as you do in pre-season friendlies, and over the course of the game created far more chances than them.

“Cameron Jerome was unlucky early on when Jens Lehmann showed his class to save, Roger Johnson came close and Gary McSheffrey was unlucky on a couple of occasions after coming on.

“We have trained hard since coming out to Austria and worked hard in the game too, that’s the most important thing in pre-season.

“We ran the midfield in the first half and caused a very good side plenty of problems, but late on a combination of all the changes being made in the game – and the fact we brought on young lads for excellent match experience – changed the momentum a bit.”

But one worry for McLeish is that Keith Fahey went off in the second half, with an abductor problem that will be assessed in the next few days.

Barry Ferguson and Roger Johnson made their Blues debuts and the boss was happy with his new signings.

McLeish said: “Barry just couldn’t wait to get his Blues career under way and showed touches of what he’s capable of. Roger was also excellent for us alongside Martin Taylor.

“He’s a real leader, very vocal, and it was a good introduction for him.”

Blues: Maik Taylor (Hart 46), Carr Wilson 67), Martin Taylor, Johnson (Rowe 67), Parnaby (Queudrue 63), McFadden (Larsson 46), Johnson (Phillips 73), Bowyer (McSheffrey 46), Fahey (Mutch 58), Carsley (Ferguson 46), Jerome (O’Connor 46).

Unused sub: Marcus Bent.