Jimmy Shan urges West Brom to silence Villa Park

Albion will be up against nearly 40,000 Villa fans on Saturday but caretaker boss Shan wants his side to take the sting out of the atmosphere.

The Baggies have been given an allocation of 2,000 for the away end, and despite the early kick-off, Shan is expecting a febrile atmosphere.

“Sometimes the level and the atmosphere of the game, the crowd has a lot to play,” he said. “We’ll try and silence the crowd.

“Put simply, our game plan will be to try and deny them hurting us and try and find ways of exploiting their weaknesses.”

Shan has steadied the Albion ship since he was installed as caretaker boss, winning six out of 10 league games to ensure the Baggies finished in the top four.

But he has highlighted the role others have had this season, including those who came before him like former boss Darren Moore.

“There have been lots of people that have played a big part in it,” said Shan. “I was part of Darren’s coaching staff.

“So of course, if promotion were to happen, there would be a huge sense of pride, but we’ve got to make sure we focus on the next two games and not get too carried away.

“Ultimately, promotion was the objective, whether Darren was still sat here or a new manager – whether that be me or anyone else – that was the aim of the club.

“There have been lots of people who have played a massive part in the transformation of the club, coming out of the elite league into the Championship, which is a hell of a lot harder league than people give it credit for.

“Even the differences of playing Saturday, Tuesday and Saturday, Wednesday – people underestimate that, and how much of a physical burden it can be.

“But also psychologically too, sometimes you’re on the spin for 13 days, day-in, day-out, and that’s staff and players alike. It’s a big ask.

“Possibly it’s going to be James Shan’s name as caretaker manager, but there have been lots of people who have played a significant part in getting us to this stage of the season.”

On Monday, Albion fans will be able to have their photos with the play-off final trophy alongside Baggies legends Brendon Batson and Ally Robertson.

Batson will be at John Lewis in Birmingham Grand Central between 11.30am and 12.30pm while Robertson will be at the Dudley Mind store in Merry Hill shopping centre between 3pm-4pm.

Mental health charity Mind are sponsors of the EFL.