New Brum boss McLeish focused on battle to beat the drop

ALEX McLEISH is confident he can achieve the number one priority of helping Birmingham avoid relegation after admitting “the lure of the Premier League” tempted him to quit as Scotland manager.

And the former Rangers boss is “satisfied” with the assurances given him about the club’s future by chairman David Gold and co-owner David Sullivan as the chances of a Carson Yeung takeover are fading fast.

McLeish has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract and is only the fourth manager appointed by Gold and Sullivan during their 15-year reign.

The 48-year-old will meet the players for the first time on Thursday and then start work in earnest in preparing for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham in London.

McLeish came close to becoming a national hero with Scotland, who fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals.

But the day to day involvement with players in domestic football and the challenge presented by Blues was difficult for McLeish to resist.

He said: “It is with regret that I leave such a good job, such good people.

“We had a great rapport within the Scottish FA. But the lure of the day to day stuff and working in the Premier League was hard to turn down.

“The end of the Euro campaign and realising it was nine months before Scotland played another competitive game played on my mind a little bit.

“Would I have stayed if Scotland had qualified? I couldn’t answer that one. I never really mapped out my future and planned what I was going to do. It has all evolved like this rather than being totally planned.”

McLeish, who enjoyed spells in charge of Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers before taking the Scotland job, added: “Birmingham is a real football club in every sense of the word, with passionate fans. It is a great challenge for me.

“Staying up is the priority. We have to make sure we stay in the Premier League. That is the challenge, first and foremost, and then we will look at other things.

Meanwhile New Derby manager Paul Jewell insisted he would not “wave the white flag” in the club’s battle with relegation — but accepts he faces one of the toughest challenges of his career.

Jewell was unveiled yesterday as Billy Davies’ replacement and his first task is to get the Rams off the bottom of the Premier League.