Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has challenged his players to strive for the next level after beating Wolves at Molineux.

Blues made it five games unbeaten, in which they have earned 11 points, to record their best spell under McLeish in the Premier League.

Victory yesterday hoisted Blues up to 11th in the table, and – with what is believed to be a £40m transfer kitty in January available from new owner Carson Yeung – McLeish wants to know if the current squad are more than mere battlers for survival.

He said: “Winning games and getting points breeds confidence, but the next step is ‘can they take it forward?’ Can they show that this is not just a flash in the pan? We don’t want it to be a case of three, four, five games and then they put the tools away. I want these lads to keep going every single week.

“If some weeks we lose a game, it won’t be for lack of application or not showing their true ability. They make mistakes, but so far the players have handled it extremely well.”