'Relegation is the lowest point of my career,' says McLeish

Blues dropped to the npower Championship after a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on a tense rollercoaster of an afternoon at White Hart Lane.

Birmingham were on course to maintain their top-flight status after going in goalless at half-time before Roman Pavlyuchenko opened the scoring for the Londoners after the break to put the visitors in the drop zone.

Craig Gardner then dragged Birmingham above water but they soon found themselves destined for relegation again when Stephen Hunt scored in the 87th minute of Wolves' game against Blackburn.

That goal meant Mick McCarthy's side climbed out of the bottom three at Birmingham's expense.

McLeish then sent his entire team on the attack looking for the winner that would have kept them up, but Pavlyuchenko added a second to seal the visitors' demise.

It was the second time that McLeish had gone down with Birmingham, but he said that this year's relegation was the worst moment in his 17-year managerial career.

"It's probably the worst moment of my career because I have been in charge of the team the whole year," McLeish said.

"They're my lads. I picked them.

"I built the squad and it's a low for me in my career but it's not a fail. I will bounce back."

Birmingham hardly created a chance in the first half but responded well to Pavlyuchenko's opener and had opportunities to snatch all three points in the second period.

Blues owner Carson Yeung sat in the stands at White Hart Lane wincing with every chance Birmingham missed. McLeish will meet the Hong Kong businessman later this week to discuss his future but the former Scotland manager insists he wants to remain in charge at St Andrew's.

"I have a good contract. As far as I'm aware I will be honouring that," McLeish said.

"I will chat with the owner during the week and we will see what the game plan is with everybody."

McLeish now finds himself in the bizarre situation of being in charge of a team who qualified for the Europa League but will be playing in England's second tier next term.

Blackpool also went down after losing 4-2 away to Manchester United.

Wigan escaped the drop after securing a 1-0 win at Stoke and Wolverhampton Wanderers stayed up despite losing 3-2 at home to fellow relegation rivals Blackburn Rovers.

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