McLeish leaves Scotland to take Birmingham job

Alex McLeish resigned as the Scotland boss on Tuesday in order to sign a three-and-a-half year contract with Birmingham.

Birmingham, England - Birmingham announced on Wednesday that former Scotland manager Alex McLeish was taking over as manager of the Blues.

McLeish just narrowly missed guiding Scotland to a place in the European Championships next summer, and he resigned as the Scotland boss on Tuesday in order to sign a three-and-a-half year contract with the Premiership club.

The former Rangers boss replaces the departed Steve Bruce, who left to become the head man at Wigan last week.

“I don’t think I ever lost the desire to go back to day-to-day football, nor did I hide my desire to try my luck in the Premiership,” McLeish told the club’s website. “I have always fancied a crack at it and Birmingham for me are a traditional football club in the true sense of the word; a big club with a good history and fantastic passionate fans.”

Birmingham currently sit in 16th place in the Premiership standings, just one point clear of the drop zone.

The Blues will visit Tottenham on Sunday in McLeish’s first game as head coach.

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