| Alex McLeish admits he questioned whether Barry Ferguson could cope with the pace of the Barclays Premier League before signing the midfielder, who put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension this week. |
Ferguson volunteered to come and train with the Blues and prove he still had plenty to offer last summer, before making his cut-price switch from Rangers.
It proved to be a wise signing by McLeish as Ferguson was voted Blues' player of the year, and he has now signed a new deal which will keep him at St. Andrew's until the end of the 2011-2012 campaign.
McLeish, who managed Ferguson as Rangers and Scotland boss, said: "I'm delighted Fergie has signed the contract extension. I suppose he did better than I expected last season.
"I say that because I remember speaking to him last summer and saying I wasn't sure whether he still had the legs for the Premier League.
"I felt that because he's always been a guy who plays with his heart and soul, who plays through injuries and he has had a lot of bad injuries in his career. But he said `I will come in and train with you, prove myself to you'."
Source: PA |
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