A Mauro Zarate brace and a Gary McSheffrey goal from the penalty spot earned Blues a much needed three points which left them in 17th place in the Premier League table but took them four points clear of the relegation zone. "The first-half performance was exceptional and we deserved to be leading at half time. "People said we may have been fortunate with our penalty, but we have been on the wrong end of one or two of them ourselves. "He has got a great future ahead of him and, if we retain our Premier League status, we can talk to Zarate about staying on for another season."
"I'm just happy to win. We have had too many draws at St Andrew's even though we have played extremely well," McLeish said after the match.
"If people say we had a bit of luck, then we will take it after some of the decisions that have gone against us previously."
McLeish also praised goalscorer Zarate and has hinted at attempting to keep the 21-year-old Argentinian at St Andrews if Blues avoid the drop.
"I'm really delighted with Mauro. He was outstanding with his dribbling skills today," said the Blues boss.