Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has told third-choice goalkeeper Colin Doyle he will not be allowed to leave St Andrews on loan.

Doyle had been keen to quit Birmingham on a temporary basis in a bid to play first-team football but has seen previous requests rebuffed by McLeish.

And it looks as though the 24-year-old Irishman will have to settle for a peripheral role in the Midlands for the foreseeable future, as McLeish is keen to have three goalkeepers at his disposal.

Joe Hart and Maik Taylor currently stand between him and Birmingham's first XI but while the likes of Ipswich, Motherwell and Dundee United have expressed interest in the past, it appears he is going nowhere.

"He (Doyle) is our third-choice goalkeeper, he's cover," McLeish told the Birmingham Mail.

"We need to have three good goalkeepers, Doyley's had a fair bit of experience without being given the total amount of experience of the other two. But he's still had a fair amount of experience so we know that we've got a terrific third goalie there.

"It must be frustrating for him but he's a great type, he trains hard with (goalkeeping coach) Dave Watson and he knows that happens in football sometimes.

"You might not be first choice but you're part of the squad and you're getting paid good wages, then you have to give it as much as you can professionally."