MATURE McFADDEN IS A CHANGED MAN

JAMES McFADDEN will not be painting the town, err Blue, if Birmingham beat Manchester City on Sunday.

There will be no wild party, no dancing on tables and no raging hangover tomorrow.

Instead, the 26-year-old striker, who once had to apologise to the Scottish FA for missing a flight after a drunken night in Hong Kong, will head home to read The Hungry Caterpillar to son James, aged three, and say goodnight to one-year-old daughter Emily.

Carson Yeung's takeover could lead to a hectic January transfer window but Birmingham's new owner will be hard pressed to find a more committed player than McFadden.

He said: "After games and training, I go home to my wife Gillian and my children.

"Nothing puts your feet back on the ground like bathing your kids and changing dirty nappies.

"But I love it and it's what's really important in life. I can't imagine pursuing other projects outside of work at the moment because my football and my family take up all my time. Everything else can wait.

"At Birmingham there isn't too much of a social scene to distract some of the younger players.

"But I believe people need to make their own mistakes and learn from them.

"When you're young you take on board what experienced players say to you but there's nothing like learning the hard way."

McFadden knows all about that.

Daft

At 19, he was the hottest young talent in Scottish football only to blot his copybook in spectacular fashion on his first tour with the national side when he missed the flight home from Hong Kong after a night of partying.

"I was only 19 and daft," he admitted. "But I learned from that.

"Everybody makes mistakes, but if you keep making the same mistakes you need ask yourself some serious questions.

"You haven't heard about me missing any other planes since."

McFadden's footballing duty now is to try and keep the Blues in the Premier League.

His first season at St Andrew's, following his switch from Everton, was blighted by injuries and relegation.

Yet McFadden speaks positively about the challenge his side face because he has nothing but admiration for the man who is leading the Birmingham charge.

Faith

He said: "When Alex McLeish took the Birmingham job and came in for me I didn't even need to speak to him.

"He knows me well. He was the gaffer when I was at Motherwell and showed real faith in me with the national side.

"The thing that stands out most for me about him is that, beyond all the talent and knowhow, he's simply a nice guy.

"And even though we are not getting the results our performances deserve right now, the mood is still very high because of the manager."

• McFADDEN READY TO WELCOME NEW ARRIVALS

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