Regular visitors to the new stadium, including season ticket holders and reporters, have noted that, while attendance figures give the impression that it is at or close to its 60,500 capacity, the reality is that at times numerous seats have been empty. Sunday's game against Wigan Athletic was a case in point, with the official figure of 60,049 at odds with the large number of empty seats.

The club confirmed yesterday that the figure announced was for tickets sold rather than actual attendance and that on average as many as 3% of ticket holders - more than 1,800 people - did not take up their seats.