Alex McLeish has backed Ben Foster to keep pushing Joe Hart for the England goalkeeper's jersey.
Birmingham boss hails goalkeeper
Alex McLeish has backed Ben Foster to keep pushing Joe Hart for the England goalkeeper's jersey.
Hart put himself in Three Lions contention with a fantastic season on loan at Birmingham last season and has established himself as No.1 since returning to Manchester City.
McLeish signed Foster from Manchester United over the summer and he has proved equally effective, producing a number of assured performances.
The 27-year-old pulled off what he has described as his 'best save ever' to deny Carlton Cole as Birmingham drew 2-2 with West Ham on Saturday, leading to more praise from McLeish.
"That was a fantastic save, close in, point blank, and his reaction was wonderful. He had agility, the speed with which he got across was fantastic," said the manager.
Spectacular
"You have to be in tip-top form to be able to move like that and Ben is in top form.
"You can see from that save and the penalty save he made earlier in the season that his form is spectacular.
"I knew we were getting a guy who just needed to play and even Sir Alex (Ferguson) said to me when we signed him 'he will be in the England team by the end of the season'.
"He is fighting Joe Hart for that position. He is a good keeper."
McLeish added: "If a keeper makes a mistake it is normally fatal but Ben has learned a lot from his Manchester United days and his loan spell at Watford. He is looking a very accomplished goalkeeper.
"It was great we were able to do a swift deal with Manchester United.
"At the time, everyone else was okay for keepers so we had no real competitors.
"A new keeper was top of the list after Joe Hart did so well last season and Sir Alex couldn't hold onto him any longer.
"He had to be fair to the guy and he has done him a favour there."
Beausejour
Jean Beausejour was another player to join Blues over the summer but he has not made quite the same impact after injury problems.
McLeish nevertheless feels he would provide the team with an added dimension and has hinted the Chile winger could start against Stoke on Tuesday.
"He lacks match fitness but when is he going to get match fitness? I have to consider him," said McLeish.
"He is the one out-and-out winger we have and we have to change the dynamics of the team to get the service to Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic.
"If they are in the team, that's his type of game.
"We will try and get him as much involved in the action as possible over the coming weeks."
