Alex McLeish claims it is “nigh on impossible” for his Birmingham City side to finish in the Premier League top six this season (14/1 – top six outright).
The experienced Scottish boss knows expectations at St Andrew’s have increased after last season’s impressive ninth-placed finish last season and also the investment into the side over the summer.
His side have had an up-and-down start to their Premier League campaign this season and sit 12th in the table with six points. They went down 3-1 to local rivals West Bromwich Albion (6/5 – relegation outright) at the weekend after taking the lead through Cameron Jerome.
There are a number of club fighting for a top-10 finish this season and the Premier League looks as being competitive as it has been in recent years, and McLeish has poured scorn on suggestions Birmingham could finish in the top six by stating it is “ludicrous to suggest that”.
The likes of Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and Aston Villa (5/2 – Premier League top six) are all likely to be fighting for a top four spot and McLeish knows his side would have to finish above a couple of these to secure a top-six spot.
He has said that he knows the “whole squad” at Birmingham are capable of playing in the Premier League, but he needs to be honest about their aspirations for the season.
“My experiences in the game tell me it is nigh on impossible. We can all dream and have ambition but there are about eight teams in there who, over a length of the season, will always come to the fore,” said the boss.
“Then the rest are fighting for the other places. If we come ninth again, it will be phenomenal.
“I would judge that even better than last season. Finishing in the top 17 is our priority again.”
McLeish is preparing his side for a Carling Cup tie with League One side MK Dons (Birmingham 2/5 to win, MK Dons 5/1, draw 10/3 – 90 minutes) at St Andrew’s on Tuesday night and he is set to give starting spots to summer signings Nikola Zigic, Matt Derbyshire, Jean Beausejour and Martin Jiranek.
The likes of Keith Fahey, Michel and Alexander Hleb are all set to start also and the manager has admitted “the gauntlet is being thrown down” to these players to show him they are worthy of stating in Birmingham’s next Premier League game against Wigan at the weekend.
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