Birmingham enjoyed a successful season this year surprising a number of teams with their stubborn football. Now, backed with plenty of money, McLeish is on a one man mission to upset the rest of the league.
This has started with an insulting bid for Wigan Athletic winger Charles N'Zogbia believed to be around the £5 million mark.
Speaking to the Wigan Evening Post, Latics chairman Dave Whelan confirmed that he would be looking for at least double that.
He said: “The answer is no, thank you. It’s nowhere near enough. We don’t want it. Sorry.
“It’s still early in the close season yet, and we’ll just sit on the fence and see what happens next. I have said to the lad that if a club that he wants to go to comes in and offers enough money, we would let him go.
“We obviously don’t want him to go, but we know he is a player who is in demand. I wouldn’t like to put a figure on his head, because it’s very difficult to assess what a player is worth these days.
“It really depends on how badly a club wants him. But I certainly haven’t given up hope of keeping him here at Wigan Athletic.”
Meanwhile, N'Zogbia himself would be wise to consider whether a move to the Midlands would be a footballing step up. With clubs in the bracket of Arsenal rumoured to be interested in the Frenchman, Birmingham does not seem all that appealing.