Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish believes an expanded fitness staff can help him attract quality players to St Andrews.

McLeish knows he needs a unique selling point if he is to attract the sort of players he wants to improve.

"There was an article I've kept about Wayne Rooney talking about the fitness guys at Manchester United," he said. "Yes, he's already fit and powerful but individuals work in different ways to get the best out of themselves.

"That's evidence. I need to get on with that now. I don't want to wait until the end of the season.

"We owe it to the likes of James McFadden and the rest of the players to make them stronger and as fit as they could be. I want James to look back on his time at this club and say, "They did everything to try to turn me into a top player" in terms of the sports science.

"We can make him more powerful and stronger. That's what I want when I sit down with the board and ask them about the infrastructure here.

"It's not glamorous spending, but it's worth the value of another player in terms of injury prevention and recovery and recuperation."