McLeish has urged supporters to back the winger during the Carling Cup semi-final second leg at home to West Ham. Larsson, whose contract runs out in the summer, has been the subject of interest from Newcastle and Blackburn during the transfer window. A deal failed to materialise however and now the former Arsenal trainee will remain at St Andrew's for the next five months. Larsson was booed by City fans when he came on as a second-half substitute during Saturday's 5-0 mauling by Manchester United at Old Trafford. But he will be at the forefront of McLeish's plans against the Hammers as on-loan David Bentley is ineligible. McLeish said: "The stick Seb got was disappointing. I would like to think the fans will not jeer Seb. "It is the way football is in the modern day. I don't think there is a great desire for Seb to leave the club but he has got to do what is right for him and his family. "We must respect that and I'd love the fans to give him a rousing reception if he is playing. "I've worked with guys on the verge of a Bosman transfer before and they down the tools - but Seb wants to play football. "He has made that clear to me and it lets him escape from the madness that is surrounding his contract talks and the future." McLeish added: "Is Larsson here for the rest of season? Yes. There will be nothing happening in the next few days. "It is great. It means another strong player in the squad." McLeish believes the Blues supporters will have a major role to play as his side look to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg at Upton Park a fortnight ago. He said: "We know what we have to do. We are a goal down but we are at St Andrew's. "The crowd were fantastic at Old Trafford when we probably didn't deserve their support. "But it shows what they can do when they put themselves right into it. There is no doubt St Andrew's has been a hostile place for teams over the years. "If the fans can give us that support, give the lads an extra bit of energy, suck the life out of the opposition, then that can help us as well. "There is no under-estimating what the home support can do." McLeish brushed off suggestions that his reputation is on the line after testing first half of the season. He said: "If you worry, you die. If you don't worry, you die. But to be fair, I'm a conscientious person and, if you are conscientious, it means you care. "I care about the Blues fans and Birmingham City FC but, in terms of being a big club, we are still trying to get to that status and we are not at that level yet."
