Martin O'Neill feels prospective Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish will be 'terrific' for the Premier League.

Birmingham have called a news conference for Wednesday morning, with McLeish expected to be presented as Steve Bruce's successor after he resigned as Scotland coach.

McLeish has succumbed to the lure of managing in the Premier League, having taken Scotland to the brink of qualification for Euro 2008.

Aston Villa boss O'Neill, who enjoyed some ding-dong battles with the former Rangers manager during his time in charge of Celtic, expects McLeish to be a hit in the English top flight.

"I think he's an excellent manager," O'Neill told Sky Sports News.

"I had a lot of rivalry with him when I was manager of Celtic and he was with Rangers.

"He would be terrific for the Premiership, he really would be.

"I can't pretend to know what he does in his training sessions or how he motivates his players, but he is able to do that.

"I know the Scottish players think a lot of him. They went very, very close to qualifying themselves."

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