Shilen Patel provides future West Brom safe standing update after initial plans confirmed

Sections of the fanbase had long been calling for safe standing to be introduced at Albion - as it has been at other grounds around the region.

On Thursday, the club confirmed that 3,864 seats in the upper Smethwick End and the Millennium Corner will be turned into safe standing from next season.

It will be the first time there has been standing inside Albion's ground since it became an all seater stadium in the mid 1990s.

Some Albion fans have already posed questions as to why sections of the Birmingham Road End haven't been included in the safe standing plans.

And this was something owner Shilen Patel addressed in his lengthy interview on the first anniversary of his takeover of Albion.

The owner explained how the move was around creating an atmosphere inside The Hawthorns - and the club will carefully review feedback following its implementation before deciding on expanding it to other areas of the ground.

He said: "I’m really excited about the fact that the club is going to be introducing safe standing in the upper Smethwick and in the Millennium Corner. 

"I think it’s been a big part of the conversation with fans and fan groups that this is something that is desired. 

"We’re going to try to find the right balance to build atmosphere and give people options, so we’ll start with a portion of the stadium and we’ll see how that goes as we make future plans. 

"I’m looking forward to seeing what the addition of safe standing means to our atmosphere and to the fan experience at The Hawthorns. 

"I think we’re going to progress on a season-by-season basis and we’ll take feed back on the early experiment of converting some of the seats to safe standing and then we’ll decide whether and how much to expand that option. 

"It’s something that many fans want, but not every fan wants, so we’ll try to find the right balance to make sure that people can access the type of seating and experience that they want.