Blues boss warning on Man United
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has warned his players to "beware of the wounded animal" when they face Manchester United at St Andrew's.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has warned his players to "beware of the wounded animal" when they face Manchester United at St Andrew's.
McLeish knows the Red Devils will be "hurting" after suffering a shock FA Cup third round defeat against Leeds at Old Trafford last weekend.
But the manager is still confident his in-form players can give United - and his former Aberdeen boss Sir Alex Ferguson - the "fright of their lives" this evening.
Blues will go into the game defending an 11 game unbeaten Premier League run which has catapulted them into the top half of the table and already virtually guaranteed their top flight status.
McLeish said: "Manchester United, you can't judge them on the last couple of results, because they don't normally go a few games without winning.
"You know there will be a bit of a wounded animal this weekend and extremely dangerous - and if we were to get something off them then we would still be punching above our weight.
"But the players are relishing matches like this. Players who haven't played before in the Premier League relished coming up against Chelsea on Boxing Day, really loved it, and it will be the same against Manchester United.
"Some of them played against United this season at Old Trafford but, at St Andrew's, we feel we can be a match for anybody and we will try to give United the fright of their lives."
McLeish is continually stressing the need for his players not to rest on their laurels after accumulating 32 points going into the New Year means they are only a handful away from safety.
He said: "The points we have amassed so far are way ahead of where we thought we would be and maybe we have got a few points in the bank for a rainy day.
"It has given the players a real impetus and a challenge to such a degree that they are all driving each other on.
"They shouldn't be thinking they have got a bit of leeway. At some stage we will lose a game, and that's a fact, but we believe that we can continue the run but they don't come any bigger than Manchester United."
