McLeish: More players needed
Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish says that more new players are needed ahead of the new season if the club want to move up to the next level.
Birmingham played very well last season in the Premier League finishing ninth in a season where many predicted them to struggle and be possible relegation candidates.
Since the end of last season the club have made the high profile signings of Ben Foster from Manchester United and Nikola Zigic from Valencia. However, the manager says he still wants to try and bring in one or two players before Birmingham's first game.
There are one or two areas of the City team where a fresh face could come in and add organisation and stability. However, the majority of the squad that did well last season is still in place.
Areas to improve
There are a few areas that Birmingham could improve ahead of the Premier League season. A big central defender would help them out a great deal. The likes of Scott Dann were unknown this time last year but they now have more pressure to bear and an extra defender would help to take this pressure off.
A quality wide player would be able to add an extra dimension to the team. Zigic is a very tall striker who does not have the greatest control in the world. A good wide player would be able to provide crosses from either flank that would allow the striker to use his height as an advantage.
The club also lack a player in the middle of the pitch who does all of the ugly things well. Someone like Wilson Palcios at Spurs is ideal in this sort of role when the club lose possession and need to win the ball back.
McLeish said: "We'd still like to enhance it, the board are right behind me on that which is fantastic. We've brought a couple of players in, we lost a few at the end of the season, I think we could be enhanced a bit and the board are pulling out the stops. There's no doubt we'll try right to the wire to bring in one or two more bits of quality."
Why change?
There will be a lot of fans in Birmingham who would question why a change is necessary when the club did much better than everyone expected them to do last season.
They need to make quality changes because more teams are going to spend more time working out how to play against Birmingham. This will mean it's harder for them to win games over the course of this coming season and they'll need the extra quality to match or better their last league finish.
The manager added: "We have been talking for quite some while now with players and agents and clubs, and we'll keep on talking. The board are well aware of where I've identified players and we will try and do what we can to make Birmingham as potent a force as we were last season."
Betting advice
Birmingham should not be at the end of the Premier League table when next May arrives. They already have enough quality across their team to play well and win a few games. However, one or two more signings would give them a chance to push for a European place.
If they bring in a few more players in areas of the pitch that have been mentioned then have a punt on them to qualify for Europe next season. They will need to have the best season in their history but they are capable of it.
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