The midlands outfit have, to date, been one of the success stories of the current Premier League campaign, having embarked on a 12-match unbeaten run that has brought with it a place in the top eight. Some fans, although certainly not all, in the Second City have muttered talk of a possible European finish come May. But, in what is the club's first season back among England's elite, McLeish only has eyes on survival and has repeatedly looked to keep fans and players alike grounded. The injection of funds following Carson Yeung's takeover and the availability of £40million in the January window only went to increase optimism in some quarters. And with Blues constantly linked to big-name forwards such as Roman Pavlyuchenko, Kenwyne Jones and Ryan Babel, some supporters were left disappointed that the forward line was not bolstered at all. But McLeish, who pulled out all the stops in his attempts to sign a striker, said: "You know, let's not go quite so high so soon because if we brought in a big major signing then there would be an expectation that we would go into Europe. "And I don't think we're quite ready for that yet. "If we get there we'll take it, but the expectation levels put more pressure on everybody with the bigger the signing you make." Midfield duo Michel and Craig Gardner did arrive at St Andrew's, but a striker was always top of the agenda. Tottenham frontman Pavlyuchenko was high on the list and a move looked to be on the cards towards the end of the deadline, only for a £10m bid to be rejected and the deal to fall through. Blues are certain to be back in the market for a forward - and maybe Pavlyuchenko - again in the summer, but McLeish is adamant everything possible was done that could have been over the past month. "As you know, we tried," said the Scotsman. "There were a number of names that we were linked with. We tried, we tried hard. "In the end I felt I didn't have anybody who could really take us forward. "There were complications in one or two other deals and it just didn't happen." McLeish, whose team host Wolves tomorrow, continued: "We made some enquiries for three or four players at that kind of price margin (£10-£12m). "And some of the wages would have been acceptable, but we couldn't quite meet the other clubs' asking prices. "And that's up to them. You can't blame them for that. "I don't think anybody tried to rip us off, the prices were probably market prices. "Clubs dug their heels in and some others we got a wee bit scared of in terms of the rise in wages. "There were a lot of factors and we felt it was right to prepare for the summer."
