They will come. They will come in their West Bromwich Albion shirts, They will come in their Wolverhampton Wanderers colours and their Aston Villa tops. And, club rivalries set aside, they will stand united for Spray.

That was how his friends referred to Rob Spray, the West Brom season ticket holder in the Brummie Road End who died aged 32 before England’s Euro 2020 qualifying game in Bulgaria and whose funeral will take place ahead of Thursday night’s game against Montenegro.

Mourners at Staffordshire Crematorium have been invited to wear football shirts, irrespective of their allegiances, and Heath Hayes, the Cannock village where Rob lived with his mother Jillian and father Malcolm that has been decorated in West Brom ribbons since his death, will come to a standstill.

Rob will be carried into the funeral to The Liquidator, the tune that greets the players on to the pitch each week at the Hawthorns, and as tributes are made and memories shared, his beloved team sit proudly at the top of the Championship table.

“I think that’s what he’s doing now,” said Rob’s older sister Katie. “He’s making sure West Brom get promoted. He would love the fact they are top of the table.”