Alex McLeish saluted a "world class" finish from Lee Bowyer as Birmingham came out 1-0 winners against Fulham.

Bowyer put the icing on an outstanding performance by netting the 16th-minute decider after latching onto a pass from James McFadden.

The former England midfielder has made a big impact since initially moving to the West Midlands on loan in January and then completing a permanent move from Upton Park during the summer on a free transfer.

McLeish said: "The goal was the one bit of class we produced in the game. It was trademark Lee Bowyer.

"It was a late run onto a great pass and the execution was world-class.

"When Lee first came here, I got some people raising their eyebrows saying his legs had gone and he was not the same player.

"But he has proved a lot of people wrong. He can run all day, has class about him, and is a real leader."

City have now taken eight points from the last 12 to climb away from the bottom three.

McLeish is full of praise for the commitment and determination once again evident in his players, particularly the centre-back pairing of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann.

The former Scotland manager said: "Today was an indication of the type of player we have got here, people who are prepared to put themselves on the line.

"On many occasions you see players turning their back on the ball, but the guys here throw everything into the challenge.

"We don't want to be defending desperately every week but it is comforting for me we have got players who can do that sort of thing. It is all part of the make up of a Premier League Team.

"Roger Johnson is typical of the type of character I wanted to bring into the changing-room and he has been tremendous for us."

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson could find little to fault from his side's performance after they dominated the second 45 minutes in the rain-swept conditions.

He said: "It was a very good team performance, but a bad result. We played very well in the second half, but even in the first half, we had plenty of chances.

"Full credit to Birmingham for the way their back four defended and their midfield players also got plenty of tackles in.

"But I don't think we could have done any more than we did today. We dominated the game that much, but just a goal eluded us."

Hodgson insisted his decision to leave Damien Duff out of his starting 11 had nothing to do with his involvement in the Republic of Ireland's heart-breaking world cup exit against France in midweek.

He said: "I left Damien and John Pantsil out of the side out of the side, but it had nothing to do with games in the week.

"I had ready-made replacements in Simon Davies and Stephen Kelly, good quality people, to fill their places.

"It made sense after they had such important matches in the week."