Alex McLeish has led Scotland to victory in France and to a one-off decider with Italy for a place in this summer’s European Championship finals; he inspired Rangers to seven trophies in just over four years and to within an away goal of the Champions League quarter-finals. But he believes that Birmingham City’s visit to Fulham on Saturday is as important as any match in his managerial career.

“It’s as big a game, there’s no doubt,” he said. “It’s a big cup final for us. We said a few weeks ago that there were a few cup finals ahead, but the next one is very important for us. Everything that’s gone before in my career is history. I’ve got to create history with this team. To keep these players in the Premier League is a fantastic achievement, as good as anybody coming up from the Coca-Cola Championship.”

The significance of the match at Craven Cottage intensified in the final half-hour of Saturday’s matches when there was a five-point swing between Fulham, who trailed 2-0 away to Manchester City only to win, and Birmingham, who ran out of legs against Liverpool’s second string after leading 2-0. Ensconced in the Barclays Premier League’s bottom three, either could be relegated on Saturday, according to other results. Birmingham, if they avoid defeat, could take the issue to the final day of the season, when Blackburn Rovers visit St Andrew’s.

McLeish is not given to hyperbole, so his emphasis on the match against Fulham should be given credence. The Birmingham manager must raise his troops from the anticlimax of Saturday’s finale if he is to win an away game for the first time since a 3-2 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in his first match in charge in December.

Birmingham may have lost at home only to Chelsea in that period, but their inclination to let slip a winning position, hinting at mental fragility, is costing them dear. This was the sixth time this season that the team have gone from winning a match to drawing at St Andrew’s. McLeish balanced the positives and the negatives of this game – “I couldn’t have asked for a better first 60 minutes,” he said – as he admitted that his young team were guilty of naivety in the second half.

They gained the upper hand by hard work and some isolated moments of brilliance for their goals, in which James McFadden was involved. First the Scotland forward crossed superbly from the right for Mikael Forssell to bring the ball down and score, then he was brought down by Martin Skrtel for Sebastian Larsson to curl home a 30-yard free kick. But Liverpool, with nine changes from the team who drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals, first leg, battled back as Jermaine Pennant’s trickery from the wing and Yossi Benayoun’s subtlety when moved to a more advanced and central role mustered the point that effectively guarantees them fourth place.

Pennant went on a mazy run, via a couple of deft exchanges with Benayoun and some ill-conceived attempted tackles, before Peter Crouch fired in. Birmingham started creaking and it was little surprise when Benayoun headed in Lucas Leiva’s cross, albeit with a hefty deflection off Radhi Jaidi.

Pennant earned a generous reception at his former club but he believes Birmingham could pay the price for allowing Steve Bruce, his old manager, to leave St Andrew’s. “If they go to Fulham and get a result, then I am sure they will get out of it,” he said. “But they have missed Steve. It will prove costly because getting a new manager halfway through the season, when you are in a tight spot, is a massive upheaval. But I still think Alex McLeish can get them out of it.”

How they rated

Birmingham City (4-4-2): Maik Taylor 7 – S Kelly 4 R Jaidi 5 L Ridgewell 4 D Murphy Y 4 – S Larsson 7 F Muamba 5 M Nafti Y 5 O Kapo 5 – J McFadden 6 M Forssell 6 Substitutes: F Queudrue (for Nafti, 77min), G McSheffrey (for Kapo, 77), M Zárate (for Forssell, 88). Not used: C Doyle, C Jerome. Next: Fulham (a).

Liverpool (4-4-2): J M Reina 6 – S Finnan 6 M Skrtel 5 S Hyypia 6 J A Riise 5 – J Pennant 8 D Plessis 5 Lucas Leiva 5 Y Benayoun 7 – A Voronin Y 6 P Crouch 6 Substitutes: E Insua 6 (for Riise, 65min). Not used: C Itandje, J Carragher, S Gerrard, D Kuyt. Next: Manchester City (h).