Gardner has apologised to McLeish and his team-mates after going down when no contact was made by Wolves defender Jody Craddock.

Referee Kevin Friend handed Gardner a second yellow card and he now faces a two-game ban for his second sending-off of the campaign.

McLeish was also unhappy with the way Gardner reacted to being fouled by Jamie O'Hara which resulted in his first booking.

His dismissal left Birmingham having to play for an hour with 10 men but they held on for a share of the spoils which pushes them four points clear of the bottom three in the Barclays Premier League.

McLeish said: "On the decision, Craig dived, it was a booking, he went down but maybe he was diving to get out of the way of the two or three hard tackles he had received previously.

"But we don't condone players going down easy to win free-kicks. Craig is better than that and at the same time I was disappointed with his yellow card for the reaction to the tackle by O'Hara.

"You can't do that. That was one which annoyed me more than the simulation because I'm sure that will be the last we will see of the simulation.

"Craig was devastated in the dressing room. He apologised to everyone bar none, we accept his apology and we don't want to see it again.

"He has to learn. It is like telling your kids when they are growing up but somehow they still disobey you and they have to learn the hard way.

"Hopefully Craig has learnt a lesson. It is a crucial period and we can ill afford to lose players at this part of the season."

McLeish will tell on-loan Tottenham winger David Bentley he still has a part to play despite leaving St Andrew's in an angry mood after not even being named amongst the substitutes.

When asked if Bentley had left because he was unhappy, McLeish said: "He will not be the first one. I think it happens at every club.

"It is not something I will lose sleep over. I understand players' disappointment.

"The other guys who have left before have come back in for training the next day.

"They don't stay away forever. David was disappointed to be left out but I am sure we will see him for training."

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy believes his side missed an opportunity to climb out of the relegation zone.

He said: "Our position overall has deteriorated because there is a game less to go. That is blatantly obvious.

"It is a missed opportunity against 10 men but they have stuck at it and not given us too many chances.

"I think Birmingham are pretty adept at having two banks of four and making it hard for you to play against.

"We didn't have what was necessary to break the 10 men down unfortunately."

Birmingham winger Sebastian Larsson's goal cancelled out Steven Fletcher's penalty before the Gardner red card.