Alex McLeish was never in danger of being damned by faint praise as Birmingham City unveiled the man they believe will establish them as a Premier League regular.

If anything the hyperbole went to the other extreme, if everything we heard is to come true Big 'Eck' has a pretty big job on his hands and even then he might have to learn to walk on water just to make sure.

So big in fact that the feat of coming within two goals of leading Scotland out of a European Championship qualification group containing three of the eight quarter-finalists at the 2006 World Cup was little more than a warmup act.

But this is Birmingham City where the highs are higher than anywhere else on the footballing horizon and the lows plummet off the bottom of the map. Welcome, Alex, to the Second City where those twin impostors operate on a job share basis.

For now, after the weeks of the gloomiest gloom there is sunlight. The appropriately named David Gold all but shone as he sat next to his man. Thrilled, excited, delighted - the words danced a jig as they left his mouth and hung in the air.

We all nodded, desperate to believe, as Gold told of his conviction that McLeish could ward off relegation, consolidate in the top half next season and then might even push on for Europe the following year.

But then, the straw that might just break McLeish's back - and even if it doesn't it might weigh extremely heavy - The Ferguson Factor.

The Aberdeen connections are obvious.

McLeish was a crucial part of the 1980s Pittodrie vintage, assembled by Ferguson, that didn't so much challenge the hegemony of Celtic and Rangers but put the Old in Old Firm.

Under Ferguson, with McLeish and Willie Miller at the heart of the defence, Aberdeen won three Scottish League titles, five Scottish Cups and two League Cups.

Impressive but not nearly as much as beating Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup final nor SV Hamburg in the Super Cup.

In throwing his hat into the Premier League ring McLeish becomes the fourth manager in the division to have worked under Sir Alex during their playing days, all with sundry medals and caps to show for that time.

Yet with the trinkets and accolades come pressure and Gold did little to relieve the expectation yesterday lunchtime: "I would love to think he could be the next Alex Ferguson," the chairman said. "He certainly struck me that he has similar traits. He has an almost identical background.

"I met him some time ago and thought that immediately. He even looks like him. If he can be as successful, that would be great."

Indeed it would. Were Birmingham to win the Premier League nine times, seven domestic cups and the Champions' League, it would indeed be great. Not likely but certainly great.

To begin that process the 48-year-old must first keep Birmingham in the division and break a sequence of seven losses in eight matches as soon as possible.

His first task will be restore shine to a dressing-room that has looked increasingly dull throughout that run. Disappointment at Goodison was followed by desperation and desolation against Villa.

By the time Richard Kingson threw one in his own net at home to Portsmouth last Saturday it was possible to see the shoulders inside every blue shirt droop. Only Liam Ridgewell kept the faith.

McLeish must breathe fire back into their bellies. He must turn Birmingham into the united band of brothers that Scotland became. And for that he can have had no better mentor.

The last word, however, must go to Gold, the eternal optimist. No-one looked happier than the man who had lost a manager and found one of international repute plus £2 million in the process.

"My view is that this is an exciting opportunity for all of us," Gold said. "We have turned the page. We have a responsibility to the club, the board, to the shareholders.

"We believe - and I hope you do as well - that we couldn't have done much better than bring in Alex McLeish.

"You couldn't miss what he had done in Scotland. You then look at his history and find his achievements were superb.

"We felt it suited Birmingham City, his style. The players in place were similar to those he may have picked. It all began to slot in and the opportunity was there. It was a window and you might say a bit of luck."

No-one can begrudge Birmingham a bit of that, they've had the blues for far too long.