On-loan midfielder Hleb will face his former club Arsenal in Saturday evening's Premier League clash at St Andrew's after returning from a month's absence with a hamstring injury. The Barcelona player has only shown glimpses of his undoubted talent since his temporary switch to Blues. But there were encouraging signs before the injury setback and McLeish is hoping he can pick up where he left off against the Gunners. McLeish said: "It is good to see him back. He definitely can make a difference. "If we can get him 100% fit and 100% up for it, with the passion that the players have shown for the last couple of years, then Alex could be a really potent force. "He came half fit, we got him to a good level, he played well against Fulham but then he got injured. "Alex has had a jolt, probably to his confidence over the last year or so with the Barcelona thing and he is human. "He has to build that confidence and get the total belief back in himself." McLeish admits it is problem trying to decide the best role in which to employ Hleb. He said: "It is a difficult one, to pin Hleb down to a position. We have played him in a diamond and in a wide area. "When I spoke to Arsene Wenger personally about him, he thought off the front was his best position. But he is versatile. "The one thing we know he can do is make a difference. If we can get him doing the business for 12 games in a row, then I'm sure that will help the team." McLeish is aware of the need for his players to start converting their chances if they are to climb away from the relegation zone. But he will not over-react if, at any stage, Blues slip into the bottom three. The former Scotland boss said: "The league is not decided until May. We just can't afford to panic if that happens (dropping into the bottom three). "The reason we're down there is we've not scored enough goals and we've drawn too many games. "We've not been battered in any game this season and the players can be proud of that. "The thing which has let us down is we've not scored enough goals. It will take us up the table if we score the chances we create."
