Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish admits Joe Hart faces a battle to win back his place from Maik Taylor.

Taylor kept a cleansheet in Hart's absence for their 0-0 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.

"I've got to credit Maik Taylor for his performance," said the Blues boss. "He's come in and looked extremely confident. A shut-out for him will have done him the world of good.

"Joe Hart has done well for us and the competition for the goalkeeping position is much better than it was last season.

"Harty knows that in the last game he made a mistake and ultimately goalkeepers get judged on how little mistakes they make."