Alex McLeish believes that Birmingham's on-loan goalkeeper, Joe Hart, must be “a major contender” to be England's No.1 at this summer's World Cup.

Safe hands: Joe Hart's form for Birmingham has pushed him into contention for the England keeper's role

The Birmingham manager claims that Hart is on the way to becoming “a great goalkeeper” if he maintains his current form.

Hart made the season-long switch from Manchester City to St Andrew's to play regular first-team football and press his international claims. He has made a major contribution to Birmingham’s rise up to eighth in the Premier League.

The 22 year-old also defied Nottingham Forest with several fine saves in Birmingham’s 1-0 victory in their FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday night, which clinched a visit to Everton in the next round.

“The Italian coaches [with England] will be looking for all the ingredients from a goalkeeper – kicking, handling, shot-stopping, distribution,” McLeish said.

“With Joe, all the ingredients are there. Is he good enough for the England number one spot? I think he’s up there. He’s got to be a major contender.

“Joe was in top form again against Forest and made some great saves and kept us in the game. He has also played his part in the league and saved us some valuable points. They say great goalkeepers can save you 10 points during the course of a season and Joe is well on his way to that.”

Birmingham extended their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions with Tuesday’s victory at St Andrew’s, inflicting Forest’s first defeat in 19 matches in the process.

Meanwhile, Nigel Clough hailed Derby's “grit and determination” after they avoided an FA Cup upset by beating Millwall 5-3 on penalties in their third-round replay at Pride Park.

Clough questioned the desire of his players after their 4-1 defeat against Scunthorpe on Saturday, the club’s third straight home loss.

Although Derby were unable to produce a rousing display against League One promotion hopefuls Millwall, they avoided a further setback after coming from behind to draw 1-1 after extra time, with Steven Davies cancelling out Steve Morison’s opener.

Stephen Bywater saved Millwall’s second spot kick, taken by Danny Schofield, and Davies, Robbie Savage, Chris Porter, Gary Teale and Dean Moxey all scored to send the hosts through.

Derby will now face Doncaster or Brentford in the fourth round and Clough was pleased with the attitude of his players, who attracted a crowd of just 7,183 – the lowest-ever attendance at Pride Park.

He said: “I thought there was certainly grit, there was determination and at times in difficult conditions there was some reasonable play. I thought there was an awful lot of honesty and endeavour not to lose the football match.”

Millwall manager Kenny Jackett urged his players to bounce back and ensure they finish in the play-off positions in League One.

“It's disappointing because we scored the first goal, which is always going to be vital. It's frustrating not to hang on but it was a good performance and there were a number of positive things to take out of it,” he said.

“The FA Cup is over, but we have to get on with our league campaign now. We will do everything we can to get into the top six and there can be no hangover from this result.”

Dave Jones heaped praise on Cardiff’s 1,200 travelling fans after his team had to make do with an FA Cup third-round replay following a 1-1 draw in Arctic conditions against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

Jones saw Bristol substitute Gavin Williams keep his side in the Cup with an injury-time equaliser, fired home low from the edge of the box. Michael Chopra looked to have secured Cardiff a fourth-round home tie with Leicester City when he took advantage of a glaring error by home goalkeeper Dean Gerken after 76 minutes to score with a first time effort from near the right touchline.

But a draw was a fair result to a game played on an increasingly treacherous surface. Heavy snow had fallen before the game, forcing several coaches carrying Cardiff supporters to return home halfway through their journey.

But those that did manage to make it delighted Jones with their vocal backing.

“I had a pop at our supporters on Saturday for booing us, but this time they were magnificent,” he said. “The game was a credit to both sides because conditions were very difficult and at least both chairmen will be happy with the outcome.”