The Blues won the trophy for the first time since 1963 after they beat Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley(see 12Bet.com).
The impressive Nikola Zigic gave them a first-half lead, only for Robin van Persie to equalise for Arsenal.
The match looked to be going to extra time until substitute Obafemi Martins capitalised on an 89th minute mix-up between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny to tap into an empty net.
"When you consider the team we were up against, we weren't given a prayer really.
"We believed today and that was a titanic performance from the players."
Birmingham (see 12Bet.com) have now qualified for the Europa League, and McLeish knows he will need to strengthen the squad in the summer to cope with a fourth competition.
big battles
"I have spoken to our owner [Carson Yeung]. He was up at the presentation gallery. I'm very pleased for Carson - it is his birthday. He must think it's easy being an owner of a football club - ninth [in the League] last season and a Carling Cup. But we have some big battles ahead of us."
Arsenal (see 12Bet.com) manager Arsene Wenger admitted that Koscielny and Szczesny were down after the mistake and said it was up to their team-mates to pick them up.
"Both of them are destroyed,'' said Wenger. "We have to lift them up again and help them, that is what a team is about, that is part of the game.'
"It was a lack of communication, determination a little bit as well. Like always, when the ball is in no-man's land, someone has to take responsibility and go for it. What was amazing [was that] no-one was going for the ball from Birmingham(see 12Bet.com).
"I am bitterly disappointed, like the whole team. We had some problems to start the game, the number of games we played caught up a little bit on us. It took us a while to get into the rhythm and pace of the game.
"In the second half we were on top, unfortunately we couldn't score the second goal and, in the end, we made a mistake that left us no time at all to respond.''
(see 12Bet.com)
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