Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish says he holds no grudge towards wantaway midfielder Alexander Hleb.
The Belarus international, on loan from Barcelona, has endured a tough season back in the Premier League because of injuries and has been restricted to just 16 appearances.
The former Arsenal man has told Birmingham he does not want to return to the club next term and will certainly leave in the summer and McLeish says the club is bigger than one player.
"We didn't expect Alex to extend his loan," McLeish told Sky Sports. "In the meantime I've put every talk of players staying and going out of our minds.
"We've got bigger fish to fry. The bigger picture is for Birmingham City to stay in the Premier League and to try and climb the table, if we can.
"We're still developing as a squad and a team. You have to rebuild the team every season. It can be difficult to have the infrastructure. We have to play to our strengths.
"The bottom line is we're playing to our strengths. We showed ambition by bringing someone like Alex in, someone a little bit different. A game-breaker if you like.
"It's just a shame that the fans haven't seen the best of him because of his injuries and little niggles. He never came fully fit.
"If he can make a contribution such as he did over the weekend in the next six games then the summer will take care of itself."
