Alex McLeish denies rumours of rift at Birmingham City

Jun 28 2009 by Colin Tattum, Sunday Mercury

“There are absolutely no problems with the board, I’m happy with all the signings and happy with the support I’ve had from them and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.”

Intriguingly, McLeish did not deny outright that he would rather not have had the Barcelona Sporting Club stopper and it is unlikely he was targeted as a first choice.

Strengthening the defence was a summer priority for McLeish but he had already landed Scott Dann from Coventry City and now Roger Johnson from Cardiff.

McLeish’s relationship with the board was strained last season as the pressure to win promotion affected everyone.

Notably, he took issue with a comments made in managing director Karren Brady’s newspaper column about signings and performances.

However, after Blues regained their Premier League status, Sullivan and the board spoke about a “new beginning” and a more harmonious spirit.

Meanwhile, chairman David Gold has confirmed that Blues had tried to sign Patrick Vieira from Internazionale.

He said: “We have pulled rabbits out of the hat before, but you can’t do these things unless you try.”