Alex McLeish has challenged Nigel Quashie to show he is worthy of a permanent move from West Ham to Birmingham after extending his loan spell by a further month.
McLeish initially signed Quashie on a one-month ‘emergency loan’ back in October, a deal which has now been lengthened on two occasions.
The latest addition to his stay at St Andrews will see Quashie meet the maximum of 93 days that any player can remain at a club on an emergency loan, meaning Blues will either have to bid him farewell or sign him on a permanent deal.
The player has expressed his desire to remain in the West Midlands and it seems that fellow Scot McLeish will give him every opportunity to earn a longer-term contract.
“We’ve extended the loan for a further month,” he told the club’s official website. “We’ve got Nigel to a level of fitness where we’ve worked really hard with him and he’s steadily improved, so I think he’s worth another month.
“But I think he can bring more and we’ve got four or five games left where he can perform for us before his time is up and then we can look at things depending on how the form has gone.
“There’s a little bit of pressure on him but for me that’s what good players thrive on and if he responds to that and gives us a good return and the team get winning again then I think there’s scope for something else to be done.”
Quashie’s last appearance of the new agreement will be against Cardiff on January 17.