That old McLeish magic gives Birmingham much-needed lift

Published on Tuesday 4 December 2007 00:56

THAT fortune favours the brave is a saying which earns validation where Alex McLeish is concerned, since no-one can say he did not display courage in a career during which he amassed 77 international caps for Scotland.

And now in management he has remained true to this instinct, one born from fiery encounters when at the heart of the Aberdeen and Scotland defence. On Sunday, on the occasion of his debut in the Premier League, he threw caution to the wind with some imaginative substitutions and saw his new Birmingham side claim an unexpected three points against Tottenham Hotspur. He was rewarded for this pluck when Sebastian Larsson saw his thunderous drive clatter into the rigging of the Spurs goal in injury-time.

It recalled McLeish's decision to send on Craig Beattie against Georgia in his first match as Scotland manager, something that was vindicated when the then Celtic striker scored the winner with his shin in injury time. It kept Scotland's hopes of Euro 2008 qualification alive, perhaps even helped McLeish reach the promised land of the English Premier League.

Fortune has tracked the determined McLeish on his way from Motherwell, where he began his management career, to Birmingham, the team who on Sunday gained their first league victory since August.

Not content with being the first Scottish manager at St Andrews since Lou Macari's short spell in charge 17 years ago, he has already re-written history. The 3-2 win was Birmingham's first in the league at White Hart Lane since 1984 - the year McLeish helped Aberdeen to the league and cup double under Sir Alex Ferguson.

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression - and the impression left on the Birmingham fans has been a good one judging by the reaction. Gary McSheffrey, who scored the soft penalty from which Birmingham took the lead on Sunday, is in no doubt that the former Scotland manager is what is required.

"I will be honest, the manager has come in and since training on Thursday the organisation, the preparation level . . . they don't miss a thing, you know," he said of McLeish, and his assistants Roy Aitken and Andy Watson.

"They are really professional and you can tell they have been a management team at top international level."

The local paper, the Birmingham Mail, also picked up on the good vibes. "If this is the kind of vein his Blues team is going to continue playing in, then the future could be bright, it could be ginger," stated football writer Colin Tattum in his report.

Now McLeish is hoping the Midas touch does not desert him this weekend at Newcastle. How Sam Allardyce, the presently under-fire manager at St James' Park, could do with a dose of McLeish's magic potion.

But to place too much emphasis on the lucky Eck angle does McLeish a disservice, with many supporters hailing the Birmingham manager's tactical choices on Sunday.

"I would say he's more hands on than Steve Bruce in the dressing room," said Garry O'Connor. "Steve had his way of managing and didn't like to mix so much or watch the training so much - he used to leave that down to [assistant] Eric Black. Alex doesn't take training but he'll be there from 10.30 to 12.30 and he'll watch every moment. With Blacky the standards could drop because he couldn't watch everything but with Alex, Roy Aitken and Andy Watson they'll have eyes everywhere."

McLeish had clearly been watching closely in training last week, with the manager given only three sessions in which to prepare his side for the trip to Spurs. He employed them wisely, and although the team he sent out was one which didn't differ hugely from Bruce's recent selections, the way McLeish worked his players during the game marked him out as a different operator. He constantly cajoled them, and signalled for chins to be lifted after Spurs had recovered from the loss of an early goal to lead 2-1.

When Birmingham plundered an equaliser through Cameron Jerome, McLeish had a decision to make. Keep it tight at the back and earn a precious point, or go for the morale-boosting win? Perhaps encouraged by Robbie Keane's red card, he went for broke and replaced wide man Daniel de Ridder with striker Mikael Forssell. Olivier Kapo, sent on for McSheffrey, became the game's dominant force.

Larsson then had the poise to seize his chance at the end. But some credit, surely, must be given to the benign force who directs the movie McLeish keeps finding himself in.

ALEX'S INSPIRED DECISIONS

SCOTLAND 2, GEORGIA 1

Scotland's Euro 2008 campaign was in danger of suffering a hugely damaging blow when the score stood at 1-1 going into the closing stages at Hampden. Alex McLeish withdrew striker Kris Boyd and replaced him with Craig Beattie, a player who hadn't seen much action with his club at the time, Celtic. But Beattie repaid his manager's faith with the winning goal in the final minute.

SCOTLAND 3, LITHUANIA 1

This match was heading the same way of the Georgia game, with the Euro 2008 campaign once again on the brink. Then two substitutes came to the rescue. Shaun Maloney had been on the field for a matter of seconds before he whipped in a free kick for Stephen McManus to put Scotland 2-1 up, before James McFadden sealed the points and justified his replacement of Gary Teale with the third Scotland goal.

SCOTLAND 1, ITALY 2

So close to a masterstroke. With Barry Ferguson having drawn Scotland level at 1-1, McLeish introduced substitute Kenny Miller to add fire power up front. The move piled pressure on Italy and almost brought a second goal, when Miller squared for McFadden who shot agonisingly wide.

TOTTENHAM 2, BIRMINGHAM 3

A 2-2 draw in his first match would have been a decent return for McLeish, but he introduced his three subs in the final half- hour as Birmingham sought a winner. Replacements Kapo and Mikael Forsell combined to almost snatch a winner on 88 minutes, and a rattled Spurs conceded the winning goal to Sebastian Larsson moments later.