Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish defended his tactics for their defeat at Burnley.

"I know tactics more than some of the critics, in fact more than probably every one of them," he said. "Away from home I still think there's scope for the tactic. The two goals we have conceded are nothing to do with formations or tactics. But we've created more with one up front.

"We're not trying to play negatively. If you look at the team we've put out, yes, we've played five midfielders, but they are all attack-minded. There isn't a defensive player in the group.

"It's a 4-5-1 when we're defending but it's a 4-3-3 when we're attacking, with James McFadden and Keith Fahey supporting O'Connor and getting Lee Bowyer forward to make a fourth man.

"Burnley lined up the same way and they were the home team, so I can't understand why people are getting on our backs."

However, Clarets boss Owen Coyle insisted: "They came with a shape and had a lot of players behind the ball. We pushed on to win."