Blues boss Alex McLeish admitted referee Mark Clattenburg was right to dismiss midfielder Craig Gardiner for his “overzealous” challenge on Wigan’s Franco di Santo in the EPL at St. Andrews last Saturday.

City extended their unbeaten run at home to a calendar year, but the game was as uninspiring as 0-0 suggests until Gardiner’s 88^th-minute lunge.

Gardiner won the ball. But replays showed him going into the challenge with his studs raised and McLeish said, with characteristic candour:

 

“I’ve seen the video and we won’t be appealing. Referees are clamping down on (studs-up challenges). He’s made the right decision.”

McLeish has asked fans to be patient as his summer additions to the strikeforce have struggled to make an impression.

Blues’ success has thus far been built on a rock-solid defence, with recent goalless draws with Liverpool and Wigan as exhibits A and B. But players such as Alexander Hleb, Nikola Zigic and Chilean World Cups star Jean Beausejour have yet to settle.

McLeish said: “I am still trying to find the right blend. You have to be patient and persevere with these guys.

“Alex (Hleb) is still searching for sharpness and fitness, as is the case with Beausejour.

“And Nikola Zigic is still trying to adjust to the English game. People expect him to win every ball in the air but he doesn’t play that way.”

Birmingham host Everton on Saturday and will set a new club record of 19 unbeaten home games in the top-flight if they avoid defeat.