Eck expects exits

The Blues board acted within 24 hours of the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, which confirmed their fate, to state McLeish is the man they want to lead them out of the npower Championship.

But there is no doubt McLeish will have a very different squad at his disposal when the Championship campaign gets under way in August after the loss of around £25 million in revenue via relegation.

McLeish said: "I will speak to them. There are one or two that are out of contract and we have to decide what is happening."

He added: "Some of the guys will have other options and we appreciate that.

"The fact is we are in the Championship and not the Premier League and I'm sure they'll have choices. It's tough on us to be relegated but we don't lie down and bury our heads in the sand. We've got to get on with the next challenge. We've got to show leadership."

The likes of Sebastian Larsson, Kevin Phillips, Martin Jiranek and Lee Bowyer are at the end of their current contracts. Alexander Hleb, David Bentley, Matt Derbyshire and Obafemi Martins will return to their parent clubs after loan spells.

Ben Foster, Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic could be targets for Premier League predators. McLeish led City to promotion in his first full season, their ninth-place finish in 2009-2010 was their highest in the top flight and this season they lifted the Carling Cup.

Source: PA

Source: PA