First Blues win vital for McLeish
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish could not stress enough the importance of getting off the Premier League points mark after beating Portsmouth at St Andrew's.
A controversial stoppage-time penalty from James McFadden - after a collision with goalkeeper David James - saw Blues through 1-0 in their first home game of the season, an instant reply from Sunday's opening defeat at Manchester United.
With Burnley and Wolves also picking up their first wins after promotion in the midweek fixtures, McLeish knows that late breakthrough could prove vital.
He said: "It's very important to get that first win on the board, so we started the game with completely different tactics to the Manchester United game.
"We worked hard at getting it right. We played some good football. We got a bit tired in the second half, but came strong again.
"As for the penalty, I was nowhere near it but the players are adamant David James was overzealous with his challenge.
"We will take the three points. For 30 years I have seen games like that - and my heart is still ticking. We did get put through the mill."
