Roger Johnson urges Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung to splash the cash

Jul 19 2010 by Andy Walker, Sunday Mercury

STRAIGHT-TALKING Roger Johnson has urged Blues owner Carson Yeung to dig deep and let Alex McLeish bring in another SIX new signings.

Big Eck’s boys are currently out here in humid Hong Kong getting themselves in shape for the start of the Premier League season.

Apart from expectant father James McFadden, up-for-sale Marcus Bent and fringe player Jay O’Shea, all of McLeish’s senior squad have jetted out to China.

And that includes new-boys Nikola Zigic, Ben Foster and Enric Valles, who all appear to be settling in very well.

However, McLeish and the rest of his squad are hoping that the trio will not be the only new faces to arrive at Blues come the end of the summer.

Chinese owner Yeung met McLeish and his right-hand men on Friday night, albeit informally, and the Blues boss will be looking to have further discussions with the mysterious businessman to iron out his new contract.

But it’s fresh acquisitions that are the top priority, with McLeish looking to bolster his goal-shy forward line further.

Speaking out here in Hong Kong last week, McLeish confirmed: “I’m looking at forward areas.

“My defence did very well last season. I might need to bolster the left-back position or one of the centre-back positions though, because if one of them go down then the numbers are quite short.

“I don’t look at last season, we’ve got to now start totally afresh. The two guys, Zigic and Foster, have given us freshness and I’m looking for more signings.

“We can’t rest on our laurels, if any player is down on their levels from last season then the Premier League is unforgiving.”

Despite potentially seeing another centre-half arrive in the coming months to threaten his own position in the team, Johnson agrees that the backline needs bolstering and would relish the competition.

And the ex-Cardiff man, who showed last season that he doesn’t mince his words, is eager to see further transfer activity pronto.

The 26-year-old even goes as far as to suggest that McLeish should be allowed to triple his tally of summer signings.

“The big thing is getting in players,” insisted Johnson, at the club’s Hong Kong base.

“We’ve got a small squad, the gaffer’s been promised players. Touch wood, he gets them.