Alex McLeish, Birmingham City FC, cites Ferguson as mentor

Evening Standard

Alex McLeish quite fancies managing Chelsea. You could say he is even preparing for it. In August he bought a house in Fulham. The drive home from Birmingham down the M40 to west London is a familiar one. The day I interviewed him he did the journey, his car radio as usual tuned into Radio 2, to catch an Elton John concert in Notting Hill.

It is important to explain the context of his remarks. I am sitting with McLeish in his office at Birmingham City's training ground. We are discussing Carlo Ancelotti's comments, following Chelsea's defeat at St Andrew's a couple of weeks ago and the sacking of his assistant Ray Wilkins.