McLeish encourages home support

McLeish has praised the fans who have turned up at St Andrew's this season

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish says he appreciates the support the team are receiving despite low attendance figures at St Andrew's.

McLeish told BBC WM: "We've had great support from the home crowd and I think we will continue to get that, regardless of the numbers.

"But it's not my job to force fans and tell them that they've got to come.

"They've got to be comfortable that they're doing the right thing, and we respect that."

Blues' best home performance of the season, a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday on 25 October, was in front of only 17,300 fans, the lowest of the campaign so far. The average for the seven home League games so far is 19,154.

McLeish added: "We would like to get more fans into the stadium. Maybe the concessions that are coming up can help.

"We know it's a tough time financially for people. We have been a bit of a yo-yo team in recent years and maybe the fans sometimes react to that.

"At the same time, we have to remember that there are teams in the Premier League getting less.

"But I'd like to think that Birmingham are the type of club and the type of fans that, if the team are winning, they will come back and they will fill the stadium."