McLeish knows big chance was blown

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish knows that his side blew the chance of taking back second place in the league when they went down 2-0 at Blackpool on Saturday.

A win against 10 man Blackpool would have put the Blues back in the automatic promotion places by leap-frogging Reading.

But first-half strikes from former Blues striker DJ Campbell and midfielder Keith Southern was enough to ensure that Birmingham got nothing from the game.

McLeish said: ‘It’s a lost opportunity but there are a lot of games left and I don’t think it’s time to press the panic button.

‘We’re disappointed but we’ve got to show perseverance and some of the players must realise that they’ve got to give us a lot more than they’ve given us today.

‘There are no excuses and, as a team with our aspirations, the players know they have to do much better than that.

‘The lack of goals is a concern but I felt the real problem today was the long ball over the top, which we struggled to cope with.’