BOLTON Wanderers fans will soon have no excuse for "only singing when they're winning".

The club is setting up a singing section for fans attending next month's UEFA Cup tie at the Reebok Stadium.

The North Stand will be set aside for supporters wishing to blast out a few chants as the Wanderers battle to beat Atletico Madrid on February 14.

And it is hoped the crowd will act as a 12th man, grabbing tickets for that section and drowning out the traditionally vocal Spanish supporters.

The Spanish giants are renowned for producing an electric atmosphere at their own Estadio Vicente Calderon in Madrid.

The famous Fondo Sur southern end of the ground is home to the passionate far-right Frente Atleti who start the majority of songs and chants, some of them obscenely racist with Uefa already critical of the monkey noises they chant.

Should the plan to get Bolton's most vocal fans together in one place prove successful, the club has promised to repeat it.

And it could help propel the Wanderers all the way to the final at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14.

Commercial director Gareth Moores said: "We've had a large number of calls and emails from fans asking us to consider providing such an area.

"As a result, the Club has responded by allocating the North Stand as a trial for this crucial European fixture.

"It's going to be one of the biggest game in the Club's history and having a singing section can only add to the atmosphere."

He said the club expected a big crowd for the game and that the stand could become a dedicated singing stand from the start of the 2008/09 season.

Mr Moores said: "The game represents the perfect opportunity to trial this new initiative which to date has received the full backing of supporters."

The move comes as many clubs report poor atmospheres at football stadia, many citing the demolition of old grounds and the building of new "sanitised" ones as the problem.

Even large crowds don't seem to be able to produce a satisfactory atmosphere - following Manchester United's win against Birmingham on New Year's Day, Sir Alex Ferguson said the 75,459-strong crowd was like a funeral.