Alex McLeish Faces Tricky Decisions

At the highest level success brings both rewards and attendant problems. By guiding Birmingham City to their best-ever run in the top flight, Alex McLeish has given loyal Blues fans the best of Christmas/New Year presents- but he's raised expectation too.

Since the takeover by Carson Yeung there has been much talk of significant cash to spend in January- but when first discussed, the money was intended to bolster the club's Premiership status. Now the cash could be spent to push on to their highest Premiership finish and a European berth.

Such is the inconsistency among the elite this season, this might just be the year for a shock bid to crash the top four- and Birmingham are the team in form.The temptation is there to go out and add quality to the squad, to push for the summit.

Set against that, Birmingham's success has been based around an exceptionally tight-knit group of players. The manager has hardly had to make a team change in a solid unit who know their business and work effectively for each other.

Would new stars destabilise the unity of purpose or upset the balance of the side? Certainly Birmingham have been fortunate with injuries and it's to be expected that some players will miss games as the winter progresses.

Some additions to the squad would seem essential but it's the type of player McLeish goes for that will be interesting- back up for the core team doing so well at the moment, or star signings to go in and take the team to an even higher level?

From recent seasons Blues fans have the memory of the impact French star Christoph Dugarry had on a relegation battle but Steve Bruce had little to lose when he threw the mercurial striker into the fray. Alex McLeish has a lot more to protect.

The signs are that McLeish will not err on the side of caution. Reported interest in Ryan Babel, Kenwyne Jones and Aidan McGeady seems to show that the club are going to try and seize the opportunity- though whether they can get the men they want is another matter.

Alex McLeish is a former international manager so he's unlikely to be worried about handling top names. Birmingham have very rarely been so well placed in their whole history. Money is available. This is surely the time to aim high.