The Blues boss has stressed that he is keen to bolster his strike-force during the this months transfer window and that he has given the Blues board a list of players he is interested in trying to sign - one appearing to be Pavlyuchenko.
"I don't want to be seen as tapping-up Harry Redknapp's players but I would take Pavlyuchenko, of course I would," McLeish has told the Birmingham Mail.
"Whether we could afford that, go to that step . . . it's quite a big step for us to go for a player of that ilk.
"Certainly if wages were not too outrageous, it would be something that would be reasonably attractive.
"I have asked the question and if the board can do that, great; if they can't, we move on. But we must move on quickly.
"They are trying to pull out the stops to help me.
"It's up to them. At the end of the day they are the ones who provide the money and they have to secure the deals for us.
"We're still looking to bring in a striker before the window closes, it's imperative. The clock is ticking and Sunday's a lost day. To get medicals and things like that set up take preparation and you don't want to rush into a medical either."
"Even my players are asking: 'are we getting another centre-forward?'. So when your own players are asking, they're ambitious, they want help.
"The owners are ambitious, I'm ambitious - let's do this."
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