McLeish played for six years under Sir Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen
Co-owner David Sullivan insists Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will keep his job, even if the club are relegated from the Premier League this season.
The Blues are in the bottom three and have just three games left against Liverpool, Fulham and Blackburn to secure top-flight survival.
But Sullivan told the Daily Express: "Whatever happens, McLeish stays.
"We'll sit down and plot a buying and selling campaign. If he does well for us, he'll end up at Man United."
Sullivan added: "Alex knows football is a marathon not a sprint. Unfortunately, we're now down to a spring, we're down to the last half mile."
McLeish himself is determined to stay at St Andrews, having arrived at the club at the end of November after narrowly failing to lead Scotland to Euro 2008.
And in an interview in the Guardian, the former Rangers manager said: "The potential here is massive and I came here for the long haul.
"Yes, there is a short-term goal but the real aim is long-term stability and making Birmingham a bona-fide Premier League team, not a yo-yo club going up and down."
He added: "I want to get this club to another level and I want to change the mindset of the supporters.
"One thing I've noticed is that sometimes there's a wee bit of an air of gloom ... we have to inspire them and the only people who can do that is us - the players, the management and the board."
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