By MARTIN LIPTON BIRMINGHAM'S board face a St Andrews mutiny next week after their season lurched to the brink of disaster.

By GRAHAM HILL DAVID Gold may have strengthened his position at Birmingham City - but he insists Carson Yeung's shares are not for sale. There were suggestions that Gold may try and buy some of Yeung's shares in the club after the Hong Kong businessman's takeover bid finally failed in December.

Birmingham City have confirmed that co-owner David Sullivan and the Gold brothers, chairman David and Ralph, have taken an increased shareholding.

BIRMINGHAM chairman David Gold maintains there is "no chance" Carson Yeung will be given an extended deadline to complete his takeover of the Premier League club.

By Nick Davis RUSSIAN billionaire Vagit Alekperov has been linked with a takeover at Blues as David Gold prepares to pull the plug on Carson Yeung's interest. Alekperov, who is president of Russia's biggest oil company Lukoil, is reported to have assets of around pounds 8billion.