Increased capacity can help Norwich promotion push

West Ham United's 10-match unbeaten away sequence faces the toughest examination when Alan Pardew takes his massively reshaped team to Norwich today in a fixture certain to attract the home side's biggest crowd of the season.

The First Division leaders are expecting their largest home attendance for more than two decades with the new £7.5m South Stand to be opened, raising the capacity at Carrow Road to almost 24,500. Today's West Ham match is a sell-out, as are three of next month's four home games.

Once corner sections are completed, another 1,000 seats will be available and with promotion to the Premier League looking increasingly likely there is already talk of adding another tier to the new structure.

Former Canaries and West Ham manager Ken Brown, now 70, is Norwich's guest of honour at today's opening, with support from Martin Peters, who played for both clubs, and John Bond, who played for West Ham and managed Norwich.

The increased capacity will bring about an immediate 50 per cent rise in City's gates after being restricted to 16,500 while the ground was down to three sides, and manager Nigel Worthington hopes the extra support will help his team sustain the momentum of their promotion challenge.

But he warned his players to keep their focus on the field. "The new stand will create an exciting atmosphere and I'm looking forward to full houses every time we play but we must not forget there is a football match to be won," he said.

"West Ham were one of the favourites for promotion and although they had an indifferent start they have started to pick up results now and to my mind they are still one of the teams who will be up there at the end of the season."

West Ham expect to include Pavel Srnicek in their squad after the Portsmouth goalkeeper signed a one-month loan deal at Upton Park, bringing to 12 the temporary signings made by the Hammers this season.

The loan system, which allows each Nationwide club up to eight short-term and five long-term loan signings in a season, has been a godsend to many clubs beset by financial problems, a category into which West Ham certainly falls, but Pardew, curiously, is not a fan. "If you're aiming for stability it causes problems because it's a quick-fix option," he said. "You're constantly looking to tinker with your team whereas it might be better if we had our players and we got on with it."

Another loan player, goalkeeper Kevin Pressman, is braced for flak from Sheffield United fans this afternoon.

The Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper is obliged to enter the lions' den of Bramall Lane in only the second match of his temporary attachment to second-placed West Bromwich Albion. A veteran of many Steel City derbies, the 36-year-old said: "I know what it's going to be like, from the number of times I've been there with Wednesday. It's part and parcel of the game. This is going to be no different and I'm looking forward to it." Pressman has joined Gary Megson's team as cover for Joe Murphy, the 22-year-old elevated to first choice after the injury to Russell Hoult. Murphy was sent home from the Republic of Ireland's training camp in midweek with a bruised hip but should be fit.

Should Albion stumble at Bramall Lane, third-placed Wigan will hope to take the opportunity to close the gap by winning at Stoke, although Potters manager Tony Pulis warned that his side's 6-3 defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend should not be seen as signalling the end of their recent revival.

"It was not for nothing that we went nine matches unbeaten before the Palace game and it is up to the players to show their quality and bounce back against Wigan."