Blues manager compares his No 1's

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish believes goalkeeper Ben Foster has the edge on previous No 1 Joe Hart due to his impressive start in life at St Andrew's.

Hart capped a successful season-long loan spell from Manchester City by earning a place in England's World Cup squad and is now the first-choice for club and country.

Blues fought tooth and nail to try and keep him at the club but, when that became 'Mission Impossible,' they turned to Foster to fill the breach.

His £6million arrival from Manchester United made him a big-money buy with a point to prove after years on the bench at Old Trafford.

Crucially, it has stared well - Hart was prone to errors in his first few outings for Blues, while Foster has been a solid performer right from his debut.

That has not gone unnoticed by McLeish, who believes his No 1 can eclipse the impact of his predecessor if his improvement continues between the sticks.

The manager said: "I think Ben has gone up a level and started better than Joe Hart did here.

"Joe came on here on loan from Manchester City and ended up having a fantastic season.

"Ben has started very solid indeed and we are delighted with the guy. e has got a little bit more experience than Joe and I am not surprised how well he is doing.

"He is a good goalkeeper, he just needed really to be injury free and to play first team football."

The Blues boss was also confident midfielder Alexander Hleb will beable to join Foster in the team for Sunday's Second City derby at Villa.

The on-loan Barcelona player suffered a twisted knee during last weekend's 2-0 win over Blackpool, but should be passed fit.

McLeish said: "Guys like Hleb are still trying to find full fitness. We really need him to get in full weeks of training to get him up to speed, so that is a little disruptive in terms of momentum.

"But we saw the signs against Blackpool of a very entertaining player and he is fit to play on Sunday."