Nikola Zigic played for Serbia during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has said he will be patient with new signing Nikola Zigic while the striker adapts to the Premier League.

The Serbia international, who joined from Valencia in May, played the final 32 minutes as a substitute in the 2-2 draw against Sunderland on Saturday.

"He's not used to playing in games with a lot of high balls so I'll work with him on that," McLeish told BBC WM.

"We'll also show him some footage of the way English defenders play."

The Blues boss resisted the temptation to start with the 6ft 8in striker and opted instead for a strike partnership of Cameron Jerome and Garry O'Connor at the Stadium of Light.

However, it was defenders Scott Dann and Liam Ridgewell who scored late on to force an unlikely 2-2 draw, having been 2-0 down with 13 minutes remaining.

"I spoke to the players about our resilience last year and eventually we were given recognition for that," added McLeish.

Blues' first home game of the season is against Blackburn on Saturday.

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