Birmingham City presented Alex McLeish as manager on Wednesday then cast doubt on the likelihood of Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung taking control of the Premier League club.

McLeish, 48, resigned as Scotland coach on Tuesday after narrowly missing out on leading the country to next year's European championship finals.

He replaces Steve Bruce who has moved to rivals Wigan Athletic.

"I always had the desire to come to the Premiership and I'd love to be managing in the Premiership for a considerable time," said McLeish, who signed a 3-1/2-year deal.

Birmingham chairman David Gold told the news conference the takeover board had not allowed the club to offer Bruce an improved deal but there had been no obstacle to offering a new contract to a new manager.

"It is a bit unusual and surprised us," he said, casting doubt on the ability of Yeung, the club's biggest shareholder with a 30 percent stake, to take control by a Dec. 20 deadline.

"I started off believing that the takeover bid was 90 percent assured," he said. "A couple of weeks ago I reduced that down to 75 percent.

"I now believe it is below 50 percent, but only time will tell. What it really says is that the board must actually take charge of the football club fully, we must act as if this takeover doesn't happen.

"We are assuming now and working on the basis that the deal will not go ahead."

McLeish, a former Aberdeen defender and Rangers manager, can look forward to renewing battle with former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill, in charge at local rivals Aston Villa.

McLeish can also expect to at least double the salary Scotland were paying him, according to British newspaper reports.




An upbeat Paul Jewell today insisted that he could keep Derby County in the Premier League after being unveiled as the club's new manager. Jewell, who has agreed a 3½-year contract worth around £1.5m a year, admits he faces a "very difficult" challenge, but reckons that with Derby just four points off 17th position they have every chance to stay up.
When asked if the Rams had the squad to survive in the Premier League, Jewell was confident and direct. "Absolutely," he said. "If I don't believe it, if the players don't believe it, if the fans don't believe it, we have no chance. It's going to be very difficult but I'm not here to wave the white flag. We're not adrift

Jewell, who resigned as Wigan's manager in May after keeping them in the Premier League, says he has become a better manager in his six months away from the game. "I've taken time out of football to reflect on how I can get better," he said. "That time has not just been spent playing golf, I've done a lot of travelling and watched a lot of football.
"Every challenge is a big challenge - be it Bradford, Sheffield Wednesday or Wigan but this one really excites me. There is a lot of history in this football club but the history doesn't count for a lot these days. But I think we can move the club forward. I'm here for the long term to try and get the club strong and upward and in the right direction."

Jewell also surprised journalists at today's press conference by insisting that he had never had any contact with the Derby chairman, Adam Pearson, before a phone call yesterday. He was less specific, however, when asked about whether he would have any money to spend in the January transfer window.

"People always ask about money but we want to move forward, there will be money available if and when we want to strengthen," said Jewell. "People talk about the January window but you have to be careful about who you bring in. I've watched a lot of matches and there's players I'd like to bring in if and when it is possible. Let January look after itself, we're looking now to Sunderland [on Saturday]."

Jewell claimed the current crop of Derby players, who have only won six points from their opening 14 Premier League matches, would be given a chance to prove themselves. "You are starting with a clean piece of paper and it's up to you to prove you are good enough to be in the team," he told them. "As long as players give me 100% there won't be a problem."

For now, however, Jewell will have to wait to meet his new squad, who have the day off today.