Birmingham City 'hugely frustrated' by continued closure of Kop and Tilton stands

Birmingham's St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium normally has a capacity of over 29,000

Birmingham City director Edward Zheng says the club are "hugely frustrated" by the continued closure of the Kop and Tilton stands at St Andrew's.

They will remain shut for their next two Championship games, against Stoke and Bournemouth, due to "the discovery of further necessary repair work".

Affected season ticket holders will enter a ballot for remaining seats.

"I cannot express enough our disappointment at not being able to have you all back," Zheng said.

"But I also know that this frustration pales into insignificance when it comes to the anger and disappointment you will all be feeling."

Birmingham first announced the closure of the two stands in December and were only told on Tuesday that they would not be ready to house supporters for the next two games.

Those with season tickets will be guaranteed to attend at least one of the next two matches, though fans who have bought tickets for the individual matches will have them cancelled and refunded.

The club aim to have the stands back open for the visit of Derby on 10 September but say it would be "irresponsible to set a final date" given "previous timeframes have not been met".

Zheng added: "Safety is our number one priority and I can assure supporters that the necessary work will be done as quickly as possible in anticipation of the safe return of our spectators."