McLeish thinks international managers were considerate to his players
Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish is grateful to international managers for not overworking his players in friendly matches this week.
Several members of the Blues squad were involved in international friendlies on Wednesday ahead of Blues' Championship clash at Swansea on Friday.
"I made contact with [Scotland manager] George Burley and [Sweden manager] Lars Lagerback," McLeish told BBC WM.
"Both of them were very understanding of our predicament this week."
The Swansea v Birmingham match was moved forward to Friday evening at the request of the police, making the schedule tight for players from both teams involved in international fixtures on Wednesday.
When I saw the Scotland substitutes going on and James McFadden was still on the pitch, I was screaming at the telly for George [Burley] to get him off!
Alex McLeish
McLeish is hopeful that all of his players will be ready, with the possible exception of Quincy Owuwu-Abeyie, who was playing in Ghana on Wednesday.
McLeish added: "We've got to play this game on Friday night because of a rugby international the next day.
"It's not ideal for us but I think we can cope with it, and especially because I've had such good understanding from the respective managers."
And the former Scotland boss appreciates the situation the international managers find themselves in.
"Yes I do, totally. When I saw the Scotland substitutes going on and James McFadden was still on the pitch, I was screaming at the telly for George [Burley] to get him off!
"Sure enough, the call came after 65 minutes and James came off.
"Knowing the international set-up, they wouldn't have done much training this week anyway, and the game would be good sharpening-up material for him for the Swansea game."
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