January cash for new Birmingham boss

David Sullivan has said new Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish will have money to spend in January – but questioned whether decent players would be available.

McLeish, who was unveiled as Steve Bruce’s replacement this morning after resigning his position as Scotland manager yesterday, will be handed a £4million transfer kitty, according to the Birmingham Mail.

Sullivan told the newspaper: “You don’t always get the good ones available in January, you don’t always get particularly great players available. Overall, we’ve done OK before in January, especially in that first season in the Premier League, but that was four, five years ago now.

“Are those players around and gettable still? Dugarry and Upson were outstanding and made a huge difference. Clemence did a good job and was a great servant to the club. Clapham did all right. We will just have to see what the manager’s thoughts are and come up with the solutions.”

While it’s doubtful that £4million will go very far in the current financial climate, hopefully McLeish will make the most of his experience of working within tight budgets. The 48-year-old former Rangers manager has said he is happy with what he has been offered.

Speaking to the club’s official site, McLeish said: “January can be an awkward time to bring in players because there are a lot of teams looking and if you’re bringing in the very best then you need loads of money.

“There are funds available but I know the parameters and I am comfortable with that. It is up to us to spread the net and try and bring in value for money.

“In my role with Scotland I watched a lot of Premier League and Champions League games. When I was watching games in Scotland, Andy Watson watched a lot of Championship matches and Roy Aitken knows England quite well from his time at Villa. We also have a pretty decent knowledge of Europe.

“Of course, we also need the help of scouts and agents that we feel can help bring in the best players.”

McLeish will have to make that £4million go a long way and, with David Gold earlier claiming the chances of the Carson Yeung takeover happening were now lower than 50 per cent, it’s unlikely that the situation will change in the near future…