McLeish remains optimistic

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish is still confident his side can avoid relegation. Birmingham suffered a 5-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday to leave them 18th in the Barclays Premier League table.

And next up for Blues are Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool who will be looking to secure the fourth and final Champions League spot. Nevertheless, City are only one point from safety and with three matches left to play McLeish is refusing to give up hope.

“We knew it would come down to the last three games,” said McLeish. “We have made ourselves difficult to beat at St Andrews and that is what we need to do now against Liverpool. What has been evident in this team is that we are capable of bouncing back and we can do it again.”