Before the season started Birmingham City chairman David Gold told Alex McLeish that he did not care how the manager did it but he wanted him to win promotion straight back to the Premier League.
McLeish manager to get promoted as his team beat promotion rivals Reading on a tense afternoon at the Madejski Stadium, securing the second promotion spot.
But the huge amount of joy among the Blues supporters at the end of the game could soon be demolished by uncertainty over the future of their manager.
A newspaper story today claimed the 50-year-old would walk away from the club at the end of the campaign, promotion or not.
And McLeish was asked time and again after the game whether he would be in charge next season, only to respond with answers which didn’t answer the question.
The Scot said that it was time to celebrate, not discuss next season. He insisted reports that he would walk away were wide of the mark but said: “Let’s see what the next few days bring.
“As far as I know I’ll be here, but you’ll have to ask the board.”
When asked how long he would be at Birmingham, he answered: “I will stay as manager for the next 24 hours.” He was clearly was not prepared to have the joy of winning promotion soured by the questions put his way but it was what he didn’t say that spoke loudest.
Nothing seems to be straightforward at Birmingham, who did not fall lower than third throughout the entire season but often disappointed with lacklustre, defensive performances.
They could have clinched promotion last week in their final home game but let a lead slip against Preston and conceded a last-minute goal that put them on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat.
McLeish admitted that even though he had been involved in relegation battles previously in his career this season has nonetheless been one of the toughest he has endured. “You feel the expectation of being at this club,” he said.
