McLeish happy to fight for survival the ugly way

Stoke City 0 Birmingham City

All across St Andrews there are posters displaying statistics about Birmingham City. You can choose from the number of FA Cup semi-final appearances (eight), the club's highest attendance (66,844) and even the record away win (7-0 at Stoke).

That was in 1998, a year Stoke got through three managers while being relegated to the third tier of English football alongside Manchester City. This time the two sides were barely able to muster seven shots between them and the statistics that the Birmingham manager, Alex McLeish, would ponder were that his team has spent 270 minutes of Premier League football without scoring from open play, yet have picked up four points.

Despite winning promotion, McLeish's regime was criticised for the style of some of their play. So far in this calendar year, they have scored 21 times in 24 games.

However, this is a results rather than an entertainment-driven business and as one former Stoke manager, Alan Durban, rather sourly quipped: "If you want entertainment, go to a circus." McLeish said he would not be diverted from ensuring Birmingham play to their strengths to survive.

"The way we play is down to our personnel," said McLeish, who is on the point of adding Sporting Gijon's midfielder, Michel, to a summer spending programme that he admits has gone over the board's budget. "I wasn't stung by the criticism last season because the most important thing was that we got up into the Premier League.

"We play to our strengths; it wasn't pretty at times but if we had attempted to play pretty football, I wouldn't be talking to you now as manager of Birmingham City, I can assure you of that.

"I think there were some games that we were not given due credit for but I have to say that standing on the touchline there were some matches which left me uneasy because of the way we played. But rebuilding Birmingham is not an overnight job, when you have a new manager coming into a club where resources are limited."

McLeish said he doubted the imminent takeover by Carson Yeung would prove disruptive, pointing out that he had been part of an Aberdeen team that coped with the loss of Alex Ferguson.

As Stoke, who lost James Beattie to a knee injury but are on the point of adding Peter Reid to Tony Pulis's management team proved, it is better to survive ugly than win the plaudits awarded to West Bromwich for going down gracefully. Four points from three games might not sound much but it is Birmingham's best start to a Premier League season since 2003-04. Then, they finished 10th. Now, they would take 17th.

Birmingham City (4-4-2) Hart; Carr, Johnson, Queudrue, Parnaby; Fahey, Bowyer (Larsson, 61), Ferguson, McFadden; O'Connor, Phillips (Benitez, 53). Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Espinoza, McSheffrey, O'Shea, Carsley.

Stoke City (4-4-2) Sorensen; Wilkinson, Shawcross, Ab Faye, Higginbotham; Lawrence, Whelan, Delap, Etherington (Whitehead, 76); Fuller, Beattie (Kitson, 12). Substitutes not used: Simonsen (gk), Griffin, Cort, Pugh, Cresswell.

Referee: C Foy (Merseyside)

Booked: Stoke City Whelan, Fuller, Whitehead

Man of the match: Ab Faye.

Attendance: 21,694.