Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish knows expectations are rising after their victory over West Ham United.

City are now unbeaten in seven games, from which they have collected 17 points and moved into eighth spot in the Barclays Premier League.

McLeish said: "The expectation level grows with every performance and result.

"The players have got to deal with that, but they are excellent characters.

"We lost just sucker goals earlier in the season, but that is part of the learning process. There are some fantastic player characters in my dressing room.

"We are building a solid Premier League team here, and starting to play good football, which has been added to the tremendous spirit of the last two years."

McLeish admitted: "We had to work hard in the end for the victory. I felt we dominated proceedings and should have put West Ham away.

"But they are fighting for points, and threw caution to the wind and I had my heart in my mouth a bit. But I have got a lot of trust in these players."