Birmingham boss McLeish ready to give Gardner extended run

Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish is ready to give Craig Gardner an extended first team run.

Gardner joined his boyhood idols from Aston Villa in January, but has so far been limited to a bit-part role.

McLeish is set to shake up the Prem's most settled side following Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Pompey in their FA Cup quarter-final.

He said: "I will look to freshen things up, with players like Michel and Craig Gardner coming into the reckoning.

"We haven't been as good as we were in terms of quality for the past month and I am already looking to bring in one or two more players for next season."