McLeish has plenty of options

The Blues boss handed a debut to new signing Marcus Bent from the start, with James McFadden partnering him in attack.

Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome and Garry O'Connor all came off the bench, with the former snatching an injury-time winner.

McLeish admits that any of his formidable quartet could have started on the opening day, and expects them all to make an impact throughout the course of the season.

Quality

"I know that all four of the players, including O'Connor, you have to give him credit for his pre-season, and Cameron Jerome have all made contributions," he told Sky Sports.

"I thought that we needed to get behind Sheffield as quickly as possible, and early as possible, with Bent's speed, so that's the reason for playing him.

"McFadden's a hard one to leave out with the quality and ability he has so, you never know, Kevin and Garry could have started and then Bent and McFadden could have come off the bench and scored.

"It takes a squad nowadays, it's not just about 11 players."

Anxious

The Scottish coach was also pleased by the manner in which his side approached a game in which so much was expected from them.

"Our tempo was good. I thought we defended much, much better," he said.

"We were a bit anxious the longer it went on 0-0, but we held up well.

"I think it's understandable, first game of the season at St Andrews, tipped to go straight back up, that there would be a bit of anxiety - but I'm very pleased with the lads."