McLeish keen to keep rein on Birmingham City's party impulses
Apr 24 2009 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Post
It would be easy for Birmingham City’s fans, players and staff alike to have the Champagne on ice and the party poppers at the ready.
However you won’t find Alex McLeish in celebratory mood just yet. According to the Birmingham manager there’s still a job to be done. A job that could, if completed, have, in McLeish’s own words, ‘life-changing’ consequences.
Birmingham are tantalisingly close to a return to Premier League; beat Preston North End on Saturday evening and they’re up. Three points, 90 minutes and a whole load of emotions separate Birmingham from the league that they were dumped out of almost 12 months ago.
The danger is that the Blues players could slip into party mode before that job is complete. Preston will be no pushovers, the Lancastarians still have a play-off dream to chase and they proved at Deepdale in December that they are capable of beating their opponents.
Which is why it’s up to McLeish to ensure that all promotion parties are cancelled until he says otherwise.
“We know that there is a marvellous opportunity there, it doesn’t take a rocket science to work out what happens if we win but we’re not being presumptuous at all,” said McLeish. “We’re keeping our feet on the ground and we know we have to earn the right. We just want the players to do themselves justice and everyone of them to play to their best level. If they do that then they will be tough to beat.
