Rowett’s Full of Glee for Stevie G

Stephen Gleeson has been described as ‘a fantastic Championship player` by Blues manager Gary Rowett.

In an interview with the Birmingham Mail, Rowett was full of praise for the Irish midfielder who has been a mainstay of the team notching up 87 appearances in two seasons since joining from MK Dons.

Gleeson has always been a talented footballer but he struggled through his first season at St. Andrew`s somewhat. However, last term, he was a key member of the first team and was mainly deployed in the holding role in front of the defence.

While Gleeson isn`t the traditional holding type – a crunching tackler, a nuisance, perhaps someone of the Robbie Savage mould – he is a highly disciplined midfielder who uses the ball well. In fact, Gleeson`s pass completion rate during the 2015/16 campaign was almost 80%, the highest in the squad.

The Dublin-born man added goals to his game last term after failing to find the net the previous season. Chipping in with five goals, including a few thunderbolts, Gleeson became an irremovable figure in Rowett`s set-up until his slight dip in form in the closing weeks – something the Blues manager jokingly blames on his new contact lenses.

With a complete pre-season under his belt, Gleeson can hit the ground running in August. If he can add a little bit more energy to his game, he would be close to a complete Championship midfielder.