LAWRIE McMENEMY has thrown his influential voice behind The Daily Echo's campaign to re-open the safe-standing debate.

The ex-Saints boss spoke of the Hillsbrough trag-edy of 1989, but stressed he believed standing could be safely re-introduced at Premiership grounds.

He said: "I was at Hillsborough on the day of the tragedy of 1989 when so many fans died at an FA Cup semi-final. Something had to be done and the Taylor inquiry ensured all-seater stadia at top-level games.

"Lots of things went wrong that terrible day, inclu-ding huge crowds being funnelled into small areas and gates in perimeter fences not being opened as people were being crushed against concrete barriers.

"None of those things can ever happen again and ground alterations have now made sure of that."

McMenemy, Saints' most successful manager in history, believes fans should be given the option to decide between standing and sitting.

He added: "There is enough evidence now to prove that standing areas should be allowed and would not cause any problems if they were in areas behind the seated portions of the ground.

"The choice should be there to stand or sit and the problems such as we have encountered this season involving stewards, police and irate supporters could be eradicated. I certainly will continue to mention this to my football-playing MPs."

Standing is banned at all Premiership grounds but McMenemy says it's utterly unrealistic to expect passionate fans to stay seated in a sport like football.

He said: "I was present at every one of England's games at Euro '96 at Wembley and, on one occasion, my seat was in the paddock area halfway back.

"Whenever anything exciting happened, the people in the front rows stood up and this had an effect on everyone behind them, who had to stand up themselves to see over their heads.

"This ruined the afternoon, particularly for children. We were continually up and down like yo-yos.

"It is very difficult for passionate supporters to just sit during the whole 90 minutes - after all, it is about a release of tension and pent-up feelings that have taken the whole week to get out since the last game.

"The difference between football and cricket, for instance, is that all of the action in football takes place in such a short time and it's impossible to restrict everyone in a large crowd to sit as though they were in the classroom."

McMenemy is just the latest high-profile figure to support calls for the choice between sitting and standing in safe areas at football.

He joins Southampton MP Alan Whitehead, Saints chairman Rupert Lowe, the Football Supporters' Federation, Standing Areas for England, many city councillors and millions of genuine football fans across the country to back The Echo's campaign.