The Blues held their fierce Midlands rivals to a stalemate in a largely uneventful but fairly physical clash at Villa Park, in which five players were handed yellow cards.
Defender Roger Johnson looked unlikely to continue after he was brought down by Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker in the second-half, but he played through the pain barrier to complete the full 90 minutes.
McLeish hailed the 27-year-old's tough approach, telling Sky Sports News: "Guys put their bodies on the line, like Roger Johnson.
"The physio, George Cooper, told me, 'you've got to get him off, there's no way he can stay on.' But I said 'I bet you he goes back on' and as such is the steel and resolve I've got in the team.
"He's been having some problems with his calf and I really don't want to lose him, he's been exceptional in 47, 48 games in a row in the Premier League. He deserves all the plaudits."
McLeish was impressed by the Blues' display on Sunday, insisting their point was well-earned.
"It's a good point, we got something well-deserved and might even have sneaked in a couple of good chances," he said.
"We were very impressive I felt, (in terms of) passing the ball and organisation."
The Blues boss feels Villa provided tough competition as the players looked to make an impression on Gerard Houllier, who took over as manager at the beginning of the season.
"Gerard is finding his feet now," he added. "The players certainly were trying to impress Gerard and there were a lot of good performances.
"But I felt, on the day, we definitely at least deserved a point."
McLeish is already looking ahead to Birmingham's visit of West Ham next weekend, and is expecting a testing encounter.
"I think we'll take it just one game at a time," he said. "We've got another difficult one coming up next week and we'll have to look at that.
"That's a huge game for both of us. Every game is really difficult and to win games in the Premier League is exceptionally tough as well."
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