Blues offer McLeish massive pay-rise to stay

Birmingham chief Peter Pannu has held fresh contract talks with Alex McLeish and is willing to sanction a major pay-rise for the Scot.

City vice-president Pannu upset McLeish with comments attributed to him claiming the Scot was 'no Jose Mourinho'.

But Carson Yeung's right-hand man and acting chairman Pannu promptly rang McLeish, 51, on Wednesday to explain the remarks.

He has hailed the job McLeish has done since Yeung's takeover last October after the club's ninth place finish last term.

Pannu insists his relationship with McLeish is strong and told Mirrorsport the manager is close to penning a new three-year contract.

Talks have been on-going for months with McLeish hoping to double his £1million-a-year salary.

A breakthrough now appears imminent with McLeish due a significant rise to put him in line with rival Premier League managers' salaries.

"We are inches away," said Pannu last night. "We have a wonderful working relationship and I am looking forward to hopefully having the agreement signed this time next week.

"Alex is very important to us and the terms of his contract are virtually agreed. We have agreed figures, there is only one clause still be sorted out and it is not pay related.

"I spoke with Alex on Wednesday night and everything is fine - to suggest otherwise is a misrepresentation."

McLeish and former Chelsea and Inter Milan managerial superstar Mourinho share the same agent in Jorge Mendes which prompted Pannu's comparison.

He explained: "As a club we haven't achieved what Mourinho did, we're not in that bracket. Nothing was meant as a slight to Alex in the context of the conversation I had."

McLeish told Brum supporters earlier this week at a fans' forum that he would not desert them for managerless neighbours Aston Villa.

The club's board have also backed him this week by bankrolling three international signings in Belarus ace Alexander Hleb, Chilean winger Jean Beausejour and Czech defender Martin Jiranek.

Pannu said: "We have just completed some incredible deals before the transfer window shut and we are all looking forward positively - with Alex as our manager."

Now an agreement appears close once the remaining clause, believed to relate to compensation terms, is hammered out.

Pannu's "Mourinho" comment is reminiscent of ex-St Andrews MD Karren Brady comparing McLeish in March 2009 to Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had been recently sacked by Chelsea.

But another major row has been headed off this time by Pannu's quick response.