McLeish is targeting a top half finish in the Premier League

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with his club's former owners when Blues visit West Ham on Wednesday.

David Sullivan and David Gold have been very vocal since leaving St Andrew's, taking credit for Blues' fine season.

"There's nothing like patting yourself on the back is there?" said McLeish.

"Of course they deserve credit for the stability of the club, and they allowed me to bring in Scott Dann and Roger Johnson in the summer," he told BBC WM.

"I was obviously frustrated in other things I tried to do over the last two years, but the one thing about David Sullivan and David Gold is they're always up front and told me 'this is what we have'.

"I had to bite my tongue and get on with it, but at least I knew where I stood, and from that point of view they were honest."

Sullivan has been warning that his new club West Ham risk total meltdown if they fail to secure their Premier League future - and McLeish is well aware that the stakes are high for the Hammers.

"West Ham really need the points, there's no doubt about it - they need them more than we do," he noted.

"But at the same time we'll go down there with relish, we're coming off the back of a very good win against Wolves."

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