Alex McLeish cannot wait for Nikola Zigic to turn on the magic and get off the mark for Birmingham.
Blues boss says Serbian is taking time to settle
Alex McLeish admits he cannot wait for Nikola Zigic to turn on the magic and get off the mark for Birmingham.
The Scotsman has defended his giant £6million summer signing who has yet to find the net since coming to St Andrews from Valencia.
The pressure will be further piled on to the Serbian to kickstart his Premier League goal tally after it was announced Blues forward James McFadden faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in training this week.
But McLeish was keen to offer his backing for his 6ft 8in striker by giving the more expensive example of Manchester City summer signing David Silva, who has taken time to settle into Eastlands following his switch from Valencia.
"Ziggy is taking time to adjust. He has admitted the speed of the game took him by surprise," said McLeish.
Sharper
"We did say that and showed him videos but you can never prepare anyone for it until he has tried it. He looked sharper in the last couple of weeks. We did some extra work on him just to sharpen the lad up.
"He said he wants loads of that and wanted more. He's come back from the World Cup, done a lot of travelling and there was adjustment for the big fella.
"If David Silva, at the age of 24 and costing £26 million, is struggling at City then we're allowed to say one or two of our lads are adjusting."
