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Manchester United has backed down over plans to evict season ticket holders to make way for a new 'singing' section at Old Trafford.

The club wanted to house 1,600 season fans in the stadium’s north east quadrant to boost the atmosphere.

The club had initially offered priority for seats in N2401 and N2402, known as the J stand, to fans who took part in trials for the singing section earlier in the season.

The U-turn, following fans' protests, means existing season ticket holders can now stay in the J stand.

Fans' fury at move

A United club spokesman said: "We have listened to feedback and have been working through ideas to find a solution that satisfies everybody."

Fans in the J stand held up a banner at the weekend's game against Norwich which read 'Loyalty = eviction'.

Manchester United Supporters Trust welcomed the club's change of heart.

Duncan Drasdo, from the trust, said: "We wrote to the club after the first phase of reallocating seats in the singing section asking them to pause the process so they could prioritise those existing J Stand season ticket holders who wanted to stay.

United plan to make singing section permanent

"We did support a singing section concept in principle but did not feel J Stand was the ideal location and we definitely could not support mass enforced relocation of existing season ticket holders. From what the club are saying, we are optimistic that they will be able to accommodate everybody who wants to stay, but clearly it depends on the numbers.

He added: "Following the announcement of J Stand, we suggested they put the singing section process on hold as we didn't feel everyone had been fully consulted after the decision on the proposed location but it appears the club felt committed to proceed at that point.

“To be fair, I think the people we've dealt with in the club would hold their hands up and say they were surprised by the scale of opposition, and lessons have been learned, so in the future there will be more consultation with fans. It's not been ideal but I hope we'll get a good outcome given where we are starting from."