McLeish rules out seventh

McLeish: Proud of progress

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Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish feels that seventh place in the Premier League is beyond his side's reach despite their 2-1 win at Portsmouth.

The Blues had Cameron Jerome to thank for their success at Fratton Park as the striker scored twice to help ease the pain of their FA Cup exit against the same opposition at the weekend.

McLeish's men now sit eighth in the table, two points behind seventh-placed Aston Villa, who have two games in hand over their Midlands rivals.

When asked if he fancied his side's chances of achieving a top-seven finish, the Scot said: "I don't think seventh place is realistic.

"You'll see sides that get to Europe usually have a striker who scores around 16 goals."

Of Birmingham's display at Portsmouth, McLeish responded: "We played some excellent football in the first half. We carved some great chances and probably could have been out of sight at half-time.

"To go in 2-0 at half-time I thought was well-deserved. With each victory we get, we set new targets. But there are some fantastic challenges ahead of us."

McLeish intimated he would have swapped Tuesday's league win for a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but was also keen to highlight their progress so far this term.

He added: "We probably would have taken the FA Cup glory.

"But we can be proud of the season we have had so far, we just weren't quite up to it in the second half at the weekend. It is a learning process for these players."