Discussions over where to stage Burton Albion's FA Cup glamour tie with Manchester-United will begin today.
A thrilling 4-1 victory over UniBond League Premier Division outfit Burscough earned National Conference side Burton the right to meet the Red Devils at home in the third round.
But barely had the celebrations died down at the Brewers' 6,000-capacity Pirelli Stadium than thoughts turned to whether the tie ought to be shifted to neighbouring Derby County's Pride Park Stadium, which can hold 34,000, although the Rams themselves have been drawn at home to Burnley.
And now Albion have confirmed discussions with Staffordshire Police and safety advisors will open tomorrow with Burton chairman Ben Robinson promising to make supporters' considerations paramount.
"Playing Manchester United has got to be the biggest thing which has ever happened to the club," said Robinson.
"There's no one bigger than Manchester United in terms of exposure but we'll be playing here at the Pirelli Stadium unless the police and the safety committee advise otherwise. However, we want to make sure the Burton supporters who come to see us week in and week out get to see their team on what will be the greatest day in the club's history.
" The tie cannot be switched to another ground simply for commercial reasons.
"There has to be a safety issue involved and if that were to be the advice we get, then the likelihood is we would try to secure another local venue - possibly Pride Park.
"It was only last month Sir Alex Ferguson brought a side down here for a friendly game to mark the official opening of the stadium.
"We won 2-1, but that was simply an occasion although there was a tremendous atmosphere.
"This time around I'm expecting Manchester United to bring a strong team because the FA Cup is a serious proposition and we want to try to beat them and go through to the next round ourselves."
Robinson was in his first spell as Brewers chairman when Albion last reached the third round, in the 1984-85 season, with a home tie with Leicester City on that occasion being moved to Derby's old Baseball Ground.
"We'd just beaten Aldershot in the previous round," said Robinson.
"We played the game at the Baseball Ground and had 23,000 in there but we lost 6-1 with Gary Lineker scoring a hat-trick.
"The FA ordered the game to be replayed though because a coin had been thrown and hit our goalkeeper when we were only 1-0 down. We played again behind closed doors at Highfield Road and lost 1-0."
