Ferguson salutes ‘intelligent’ former pupil McLeish

ALEX FERGUSON does not blame Alex McLeish for walking out on Scotland.

McLeish quit the Scotland job after agonisingly failing to reach Euro 2008, taking up the offer to succeed Steve Bruce at Birmingham.

Although it seemed slightly unusual to swap high-level international football, particularly with an improving team, for a Blues outfit beset by boardroom uncertainty, McLeish spoke to Ferguson, his old boss at Aberdeen, about the challenge at St Andrews.