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McLeish vows to beat drop despite derby day mauling at Villa

21/04/2008

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish remains confident of avoiding relegation, even after watching his side slump to a 5-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

Villa winger Ashley Young, playing in a free role, gave Blues the runaround in front of the watching England coach Fabio Capello as he scored twice in his side's victory over their bitter local rivals.

But McLeish still believes his team's home form could make the difference in keeping them up ahead of either Bolton Wanderers or Reading.

"We always knew it would come down to the last three games and nothing has changed there," the former Scotland manager, whose side host Liverpool at the weekend, explained.

"We have made ourselves difficult to beat at St Andrews and that is what we need to do now against Liverpool."

McLeish admitted Blues fans were probably "embarrassed" by the manner of the defeat at Villa Park but said his players had already proved they are capable of recovering from setbacks.

Birmingham lost 2-1 at Reading in March but responded with a 3-1 home win over European contenders Manchester City in the following game at St Andrews and McLeish called for a similar reaction against the Reds on Saturday.

"What has been evident in this team is that we are capable of bouncing back and we can do it again," he said.

"We need the fans to stay with us, starting against Liverpool at St Andrews where we have done very well, and we will see what kind of reaction we get."