Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish admits he came close to joining both Tottenham and Manchester United during his playing career.

McLeish captained Aberdeen with distinction in Scotland.

He told the News of the World: "Five or six times in my Aberdeen career, there was speculation that I might come down. Steve Archibald at Spurs would say 'Terry (Venables) wants you', Sir Alex tried to get me. So I thought 'I'm going to do what I didn't do as a player. When the opportunity comes, I'm going to grab it.' If I feel it is a bigger challenge, I'm going to take it.

"And that's the way I have lived my management career."