McLeish eyes midfield gains

Blues boss keen to add to his midfield with a number of signings

By Richard Bailey   Last updated: 29th June 2009  

McLeish eyes midfield gains

McLeish: Wants to strengthen midfield

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Alex McLeish is turning his attentions to strengthening Birmingham's midfield after tightening up his defence in recent weeks.

The Birmingham manager has signed four defenders already this summer and now wants to add bite to his midfield.

McLeish has admitted his interest in Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson while a move for former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has also been mooted.

The Blues are expected to announce the permanent signing of Lee Bowyer in the next few days following a successful loan spell towards the end of last season and the former Scotland boss expects more to follow.

"I believe we are short in the midfield area and that's a position I want to strengthen," he told the club's official website.

"We are looking for players that are not fazed at the prospect of going up to Old Trafford.

"I would like to get a player of real authority with the ball in central midfield."

Research

McLeish admits that he has taken time to scout prospective signings, sometimes going into extremely fine detail.

"They are not easy to find and it can be very costly, which is why we have tried to do as much research on players as we could over the closing weeks of last season," he added.

"When we qualified for the Premier League in early May, it allowed us to go out about and look at many, many players, right through to the end of the season before taking some holidays this month."