In fact, the Blues boss thought that the side had played well enough to have taken all three points from the game at Villa Park on Sunday lunchtime.
Blues were beaten 1-0 by their near neighbours courtsey of a controversial penalty decision awarded seven minutes from the end of normal time when Roger Johnson was adjudged, by stand-in referee Martin Atkinson, to have fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor which James Milner despatched to give Villa an undeserved victory.
McLeish was clearly upset with both the decision and the end result as TV replays have shown that the Blues defender had made a perfectly good tackle on the Villa striker.
"I thought we deserved to win it let alone losing to a controversial penalty," the Blues boss told Sky Sports News after the game.
"I am disappointed such a big game and big decision went against us. It was a bad mistake by the ref. He was not up with the play.
"Because of Agbonlahor on the break it is difficult for referees to keep up but it wasn't a clear-cut decision and you can't give it if you're not sure.
"It was a great touch by Roger Johnson. He's made a name for himself in the Premier League with that kind of tackle."