When Carson Yeung arrived at St Andrews he made it clear that promoting Birmingham City in China and the Far East was prevalent in his plans and the pre-season tour which the club have undertaken will have gone a long way in contributing to the chairman’s desired exploitation of a football hungry nation.

Alex McLeish had warned that the trip could not become a ‘circus’ with commercial and PR duties, which were organised by Yeung’s hierarchy, taking priority over important footballing work and training ahead of Blues’ opening game against Sunderland in August.

However, I like many Blues’ fans believe the right balance has been struck and both McLeish and the board will come away delighted with the trip, safe in the knowledge that the club’s profile has been raised harmoniously with the squad’s fitness levels.

It is in the future that Blues may reap the rewards of this particular market as exemplified by Manchester United in the past with their long-run China strategy which saw MUTV added to CCTV5, the government-owned sports cable channel.  It is estimated that there are 5.3 million to 8 million supporters of Manchester United in the far-east and if Blues can take heed from this and get anywhere near a similar amount it is bound to be big business.

Despite their being “teething problems” during the adventure for Blues, particularly the state of the Birds Nest Stadium pitch when Blues defeated Beijing Guoan, the Blues boss thanked everyone who had supported their fortnights stay when speaking to www.bcfc.com.

McLeish said: “I’d like to thank everyone in Hong Kong and China for welcoming us with open arms and for being so polite and hospitable throughout.

“Everyone from the club has met some wonderful people and it is an education and experience we will carry with us in a positive manner for a very long time.

“We come away with three wins, which is pleasing because we want to win matches. But most importantly we are on the right road with regards to our preparation for the forthcoming Barclays Premier League campaign.”

Another thing that will undoubtedly please McLeish is the tour form of his Scottish compatriot Garry O’Connor who scored 3 goals in as many games, perhaps vindicating the decision to extend his contract until the end of 2010.

O’Connor missed most of the 2009–10 season due to undergoing two operations on a hip injury and having helped to maintain a 100% record in the far-east for McLeish’s men he has recently vowed to return a different player next season.

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