Chiefs ponder McLeish's future

Published May. 23, 2011 9:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

McLeish has performed wonders in his three full seasons at Birmingham in gaining promotion, securing a best top-flight finish last term - ninth - and winning the Carling Cup. But the drop into the Championship has cast an inevitable cloud over McLeish and whether he will remain at St Andrew's. Talks are expected to take place between all parties in the next 24 to 48 hours. It will cost the club around £2million to pay up the remaining two years of the Scot's contract, when the purse strings will already have to be tightened due to the reduction in revenue following relegation. McLeish has reiterated his desire to stay at Blues unless his future is taken out of his hands. He said: "I've got a good contract with the club. "It's tough on us to be relegated but we don't lie down and bury our heads in the sand. "We've got to get on with the next challenge. We've got to show leadership. "Will I still be here next year? I've got a contract that says that. Until I'm told differently, that will be the case." McLeish was on Monday back at the club's training ground sorting out the future of several players. Sebastian Larsson, Lee Bowyer and Martin Jiranek are all out of contract while Obafemi Martins, Matt Derbyshire, David Bentley and Alexander Hleb have come to the end of their loan spells. The likes of Ben Foster, Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic are also likely to be targets for Premier League clubs.