Impact of duo surprises Blues boss
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish admits the rapid progress of defenders Roger Johnson and Scott Dann has took him by surprise.
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish admits the rapid progress of defenders Roger Johnson and Scott Dann has took him by surprise.
The pair have won rave reviews since their summer moves to St Andrew's and are set to lead Blues in their FA Cup third round replay against Nottingham Forest at St Andrew's tonight.
Dann's £3.5million price tag and Johnson's £5million fee raised eyebrows when they joined from Coventry and Cardiff respectively and boss McLeish is delighted, but surprised, with their impact.
He said: "Their performances have been more exceptional than I anticipated.
"They have done much better than I thought. I knew they were good players through the diligence and homework I did, and the feedback I got from people who knew them better than I did.
"They are two ambitious boys, they want to win, they have that belief about themselves and they came in to the dressing room with a lot of character and experience."
The duo, who had never played in the Premier League before their arrival, impressed in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United but McLeish warns they must continue to improve if they are to become great players.
He said: "Their progress has been fantastic. The secret is to keep it going and if we stay in the Premier League to do it again.
"It's alright to have a good one season but the hallmark of great players is to do it time and time again, turn up for work every week and do it year after year."
McLeish is hoping his defenders continue where they left off against the champions but believes goalkeeper Joe Hart and left-back Liam Ridgewell should also receive the plaudits.
He said: "United had a lot of possession but the boys at the back stood up to the tes and when United breached the backline we had Joe Hart to thank as well. They are all battling for each other.
"Ridgewell did well, he woke up on Saturday morning with spasms in his neck. He was a doubt but the physios freed it up a wee bit and he had a great game against Antonio Valencia, who is a world class player."
