McLeish – Pressure is on

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    Blues boss looking for his troops to raise their game during run-in

    By Chris Burton   Last updated: 21st March 2011   Subscribe to RSS Feed

    McLeish - Pressure is on

    McLeish: Basement battle

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    Alex McLeish admits the battle to beat the drop is likely to rest on who can ‘hold their nerve’.

    The Birmingham boss finds himself locked in a Premier League relegation dogfight with nine games of the season remaining.

    A 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Wigan on Saturday saw the Blues slip to second from bottom in the top flight standings.

    Fortunately for them, things are so tight towards the bottom that only one point separates them from safety.

    There is, however, an all too real threat that the club could end the season as Carling Cup winners but facing up to life in the Championship next term.

    McLeish remains confident that his side can steer a path to safety, but admits that nerves will start to fray as the campaign edges towards a conclusion.

    “The pressure intensifies and I guess it’s about who can hold their nerve,” the Scot told the Birmingham Mail.

    “We certainly need to start winning some games.”

    Scary

    With almost half of the division still looking anxiously over their shoulder, McLeish believes the scrap to preserve Premier League status will go right down to the wire.

    “There are about 10 teams involved, but I’d like to be 10 places up the division,” he said.

    “It’ still concertinaed down there, but the games are obviously becoming of greater importance.

    “There are players who have been in this position before, it’s up to them to show that they have the bottle to get out of it and get us further up the table because that kind of performance we saw at Wigan just won’t do.”

    McLeish added: “The situation has been scary for some time. We’ve been down there once or twice before.

    “But we’re there now, there’s no getting away from it. It’s up to us to deal with it, and it will take strong minds. The players owe me and the fans a performance in the next game, no question.”

    Barclays Prem To Stay Up 10/11 Win Outright: Birmingham 4/9

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    McLeish – Pressure is on