Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish has urged central defenders Liam Ridgewell and Martin Jiranek to demonstrate that they can fill the void left by Scott Dann's long-term hamstring injury.

Ridgewell switched from left-back into the middle of defence in Sunday's derby clash against Aston Villa alongside Roger Johnson, but Czech republic international Jiranek, signed from Spartak Moscow last summer, could also get his opportunity in the forthcoming weeks.

McLeish said: "We will miss Scott but we have to get on with it. These are things a manager can't legislate for.

"Other players have to step up to the plate."