McLeish delays contract talks

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will postpone contract talks with midfielder Mehdi Nafti and goalkeeper Maik Taylor to fully focus on the battle for Premier League survival.

The duo are out of contract in the summer, although it is understood there is a 12-month option on Nafti’s current deal which could be exercised.

McLeish is aware of the need to sort out the future of the pair but admits staying in the top flight is his number one priority.

Blues have dropped into the bottom three for only the second time this season after drawing at home with Derby at the weekend.

McLeish said: “Mehdi’s contract talks have not been on my mind particularly but it was agreed before he went away to play in the African Nations Cup that we would meet when he got back.

“We would like Mehdi to stay and be part of the squad. It’s something that has to be organised and I’m sure his agent will lock horns with (managing director) Karren Brady and the club.

“It’s the same scenario with Maik Taylor’s contract. But I really want to get some points on the board before we sit down to talk again.

“I would rather people focused on the prestige of being in the Premier League rather than money and the personal side of the game. But I know it has to be done and Mehdi’s contract will be dealt with.”

Nafti and Tunisian team-mate Radhi Jaidi will both be available for Saturday’s away clash with West Ham following their country’s elimination from the Nations Cup.

But McLeish will assess their fitness before deciding whether to give them an instant recall.

The former Scotland boss said: “The Tunisia result strengthens our squad because we have one of the weakest squads in terms of numbers in this league.

“Jaidi and Nafti will increase those numbers but we’ll assess their fitness when they get back to see if they can be involved against West Ham.

“Maybe we lack a little bit of Premier League experience and Nafti and Jaidi provide us with that.”

Blues have decided against pursuing their bid to obtain a work permit for Georgian international midfielder Levan Tskitishvili after the player’s application was refused just hours before the transfer window closed.

McLeish said: “We could have taken it further and gone to the Home Office and our lawyers felt we had a case.

“But we thought we didn’t need the side-show when we have all these important games coming up.”